And if the same situation turns in our favour, it excites our senses. However, joy and sorrow are never permanent. They have tendencies to change in accordance to the situation. So whatever is bound to change is not real and what is not real cannot be true.

What, then, is truth? Changing situations are always the reason for our happiness or unhappiness. But neither the changing situations are real nor the joys and sorrows. They are just relative terms. These are creations of our avivek or lack of discrimination that makes us float on the surface, preventing us from knowing our true nature. The five subtle organs of sense, that of touch, smell, taste, hearing and sight keep us occupied all through life and we are unable to look beyond these.

The world is bound by causation of changes; therefore nothing is permanent. Environmental changes are seen in the shifting seasons, alternating days and nights and the movement of the earth signifies these changes. On the physical plane these are present in the form of positive or negative emotions. Positive feelings fill us with joy whereas being caught in the web of negativity reflects unhappiness, insecurity, uneasiness and in its more intense form, irritation and anger.

We get caught in a whirlpool of being happy or sad due to ignorance of our real Self. Our true nature is love and that is concealed in pure consciousness. Depriving us of this true nature draws us to experience unhappiness and discontentment. Once we become aware that the changes are meant to be only on the surface or at the gross body level it is slowly revealed to us that we are but pure consciousness. We always exist with it. Only the discriminative power is absent. The Bhagavad Gita refers to impermanence as follows: skip to main | skip to sidebar "The sense-contacts, O son of Kunti, cause heat and cold, pleasure and pain; they come and go; they are impermanent. Endure them bravely, O descendent of Bharata."

The causes which are exact opposites are limited and occasional whereas the joy of Brahmn is self-existent, universal and independent of particular causes and objects. There is no obligation to be pleased with success and pained with failure; both can be met with perfect equanimity. Our attitude to pleasure and pain is determined by force of habit. Actually it is ego-consciousness that enjoys and suffers. It continues to do so as long as it is bound up with the use of life and body and is dependent on them for its knowledge and action. But when the mind becomes disinterested and free and sinks into a secret serenity, when its consciousness becomes illuminated, it gladly accepts whatever happens, knowing full well that these contacts come and go.

The illuminated consciousness removes avidya or ignorance and the glory of truth is revealed; the sat-chit-anand. Deliberating on this reality gives us true insight into our pure Self. Sat is truth or existence, chit is intelligence or consciousness and ananda is bliss. By constant and conscious reminders one could work towards dwelling in this permanent Truth. When all penetrating existence that is formless, shapeless Supreme energy in Creation become one with the Intelligence or experiences the aspect of Pure Consciousness, one enters into a state of eternal happiness and divine bliss or ananda.

The countdown to an examination result, the grilling at an interview, the sliding Sensex that plays havoc with our bank balance are things that set our pulse racing. A common fear that plagues most of us is ‘what if’. What if I get fired? What if they don’t like my speech? What if I lose all the money? What if she doesn’t love me? Such uncertainties and fears cause stress which can be quite debilitating at times.

Imagined fears
In his book, The Meaning of Anxiety, American existential psychologist Rollo May says that there are two main reasons for worrying. The first is that even in a small problem, the mind jumps to the worst-case scenario. It’s a paradoxical situation – to avoid a small amount of stress, a person creates an imagined, but greater stress. This way, even minor discomforts become the cause of great worry.

For example, a person who has just found out that a project he submitted did not go so well with the CEO, will imagine being reprimanded publicly, pay cuts and pink slip. Instead of focussing on how he could improve the project, he’ll worry about how to deal with being jobless.

Burden of the mask
The second cause of stress, according to May, is projecting oneself differently from what one actually is. An individual may want to be perceived as intelligent, caring and selfless while not possessing any of these qualities. This can put a lot of pressure to live up to that image. This urge to ‘show’ rather than ‘be’ is what May terms as anticipatory anxiety. The person is always afraid that someone will uncover the truth that he is not who he shows he is. Instead of being himself, he feels more comfort putting on and protecting the mask. And so he is always creating the burden of caution on himself.

Physical and emotional toll
No matter what the cause of worry, the end result is harm to the body and mind. Worriers tend to have frequent sinus headaches, stomach troubles, and are at a greater risk of heart attacks, insomnia and weakened immune systems.

Emotionally, a life of constant worrying leads to a lot of negativity. Instead of being positive, imaginative and creative – the person becomes insecure, tense and miserable.

Motivational guru Jim Rohn says, "Worry is like an economic cancer. If continued, it will haul you off into a financial desert where you will choke on the dust of your own regrets." So stop worrying and start living. It’s easy; here are eight simple ways:

1. Reassure yourself
Begin with confronting your worries, face to face. Understand and introspect why you are feeling something and what you fear. Then give yourself an embrace and say it’s going to be okay. Things are never as bad as imagined in a state of peaking worry.

2. Stop fretting
Simply stop worrying. Remind yourself of a situation similar to the one you’re facing and tell yourself how everything turned out fine in the end the last time. Stop fretting and breathe easy.

3. Exercise regularly
Exercise is a great stress-buster. If you’re at office, take a walk in the corridors; even a stretch will do. If you are too stressed out, take a walk. Any vigorous physical activity such as jogging, boxing or swimming can help bring down stress levels.

4. Take a deep breath
When you are worried, you tend to breathe faster. There’s less oxygen in your lungs and you start panting. To slow down your breathing take deep, purposeful breaths. You’ll calm down.

5. Learn to share
Share your worries with someone you trust. Talking it out may help you realise that the problem is not all that big. And even if it is, sharing will help you see things in perspective and make you feel better.

6. Take a shower
In moments of extreme anger or stress, it’s best to take a shower.A long warm bath will relax your mind and body to a point where you can think straight.

7. Write a journal
Write about your worries. This will help you get to the depth of your subconscious and realise the root cause of your worry. This is an extremely helpful exercise and a positive one that will see you grow out of worries permanently.

8. Correct your beliefs
We now know that worry comes when you are unable to face life’s challenges, or with the urge to put on a facade in public. So the most important step to tackle worry is to correct your beliefs. Change the way you are accustomed to thinking and see the transformation in your life.

Now, you had dreamed about freedom without ever thinking that great responsibility will follow. Freedom you have, but you have not fulfilled the responsibility. Hence, sadness lingers around you. You are absolutely capable of removing this sadness. If you were capable of destroying your slavery, your chains, you are certainly capable of being creative.

Freedom means you will have to be responsible for every act, for every breath; whatever you do or don’t do, you will be responsible.

People are really in deep fear of freedom, although they talk about freedom. But my own experience is: very few people really want freedom; because they are subconsciously aware that freedom will bring many problems that they are not ready to face. It is better to remain in cozy imprisonment. It is warmer, and what will you do with freedom? Unless you are ready to be a seeker, a searcher, a creator … Very few people want to go on a pilgrimage or to go into deeper silences of the heart, or to take the responsibility of love. The implications are great.

You will have to dispel that darkness, otherwise sooner or later you will enter into a prison. You cannot go on burdening yourself with sadness. Before the burden becomes too much and forces you back into slavery, into imprisonment, change the whole situation by being a creative person. Just find out what is your joy in life, what you would like to create, what you would like to be, what you want to be your definition.

Freedom is simply an opportunity to find a definition for yourself, a true, authentic individuality, and a joy in making the world around you a little better, a little more beautiful — a few more roses, a little more greenery and a few more oases.

Madame Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society used to carry two bags in her hands, always. Either going for a morning walk or traveling in a train — those two bags were always in her hands. And she was throwing something out of those bags — from the window while sitting in the train — onto the side of the train.

People would ask, "Why do you do this?"

She would say, "This has been my whole life’s habit. These are seasonal flower seeds. I may not come back on this route again, but that does not matter. When the season comes and the flowers will blossom, thousands of people who pass every day in this line of railway trains will see those flowers, those colors. They will not know me. That does not matter.

"One thing is certain: I am making a few people happy somewhere. That much I know. It does not matter whether they know it or not. What matters is that I have been doing something which will make somebody happy. Some children may come and pluck a few flowers and go home. Some lovers may come and make garlands for each other. And without their knowing, I will be part of their love. And I will be part of the joy of children. And I will be part of those who will be simply passing by the path, seeing the beautiful flowers." (Satchitanand.14)

Courtesy: Osho World Foundation, Delhi.

When someone suggests something to you that conflicts with your conditioning, rather than responding with, "that’s ridiculous; we all know that’s impossible," say, "I’ve never considered that before. I’ll think about it." Open yourself up to the spiritual ideas of all people, and listen with an open mind to crazy schemes and ideas that at first seem to be outrageous. If someone suggests that crystals can cure haemorrhoids, that natural herbs can lower cholesterol, that people will eventually be able to breathe underwater, or that levitation is possible – listen, and be curious.

Release attachments
Let go of your attachments to what you’ve been trained to believe. Open your mind to all possibilities, because whether you believe something is possible or impossible, either way you’ll be right. How can that be true? Your agreement with reality and all that’s possible determines what you’ll become. If you’re convinced that you can’t become wealthy, famous, artistic, a professional athlete, a great singer, or whatever, you will act upon that inner conviction that prevents you from manifesting what you’d really like. All that you’ll get from your effort is being right. When you need to be right, you’re attached to your conditioned reflex of the way things are and always have been; and you assume they will always be.

A mind that is open to everything, and a mind that is attached to nothing. Your attachments are the source of all your problems. The need to be right, to possess someone or something, to win at all costs, to be viewed by others as superior – these are all attachments. The open mind resists these attachments and consequently experiences inner peace and success.

To release attachments, you have to make a shift in how you view yourself. If your primary identification is with your body and your possessions, your ego is the dominant force in your life. If you can tame your ego sufficiently, you’ll call upon your spirit to be the guiding force in your life. As a spiritual being you can observe your body and be a compassionate witness to your existence. Your spiritual aspect sees the folly of attachments because your spiritual self is an infinite soul.

It’s possible to have a burning desire yet not have attachments. You can have an inner vision of what you intend to manifest and still detach yourself from the outcome. How?

Consider this observation in A Course in Miracles, "Infinite patience produces immediate results." It sounds like a paradox, doesn’t it? Infinite patience implies an absolute certainty that what you’d like to manifest will indeed show up, in perfect order, and exactly on time. The immediate result you receive from this inner knowing is a sense of peace. When you detach from the outcome, you’re at peace and you’ll ultimately see the fruits of your convictions…. This is an open mind – and an absence of attachment.

Among the many definitions and descriptions of art, one is built on the idea of restraint. Art is that which expresses something and leaves a little unsaid and it is in an attempt to bridge this gap that the rasika or viewer keeps going back to the experience called ‘art’. Restraint could manifest as the gap between the apparent and the hidden, between a movement or action and the lack of it, or even as between desire and need.

Vardhamana’s desire
Mahavira’s life was built on much the same idea of restraint. The story goes that he was desirous of going out into the world, seeking truth. He wished to denounce family life. This came soon after his parents died. His brother and uncle, however, did not like the idea of Vardhamana, as he was called then, becoming a monk. With the hope that he would change his mind if he had some time to get over the recent tragic events, they refused to give him permission to leave. They asked him to observe at least two years of mourning.

Mahavira could have left the house stealthily, but he respected his kin and didn’t want to hurt them. He not only restrained his impulse to leave, he stayed on at home among the riches that his brother and uncle were lavishing on him but partaking of them with detachment. Here again he employed the idea of restraint which made him state in later years that one cannot hold circumstances responsible for one’s own weaknesses; one has to control one’s senses. So he controlled his tastebud and his need for material things.

Birth of nonviolence
Finally the two years went past and Vardhamana left home to become a monk. He observed severe penance and there were many who laughed at him. What is the use of being so severe to the body, they wondered. But Vardhamana was not being severe to the body; he was just moving from strength to strength. He was checking out the strength of mind as well as the strength of the body. When he almost negated the two, he identified the third component of life, the soul. That which is permanent is the soul, he stated, and the body is the perishable component. This made him understand that all living beings have a soul and the difference lies in the number of senses they have. Plants, for example, have only one sense, the sense of touch.

Every being wants to live and so one should observe restraint with one’s own desires and allow for other lives to flourish as well. This gave birth to the idea of ahimsa or nonviolence.

To allow other lives to live without disturbing them requires two principles – anekanta and aparigraha. The principle of anekanta asserts that truth is multi-dimensional and opposites can co-exist, therefore allowing for diversity in thought and action. Aparigraha is non-possessiveness – especially when resources are limited and wants, unlimited. When demand exceeds supply, it gives rise to competition and intolerance. When you overcome the desire to possess, it is aparigraha.

Poetry of life
Central to Mahavira’s teachings is therefore restraint…the same restraint that calls for seconds of silence within a song, for moments of stillness in dance, for that colourless space on a canvas of colour.

Life, too, can become poetry with restraint…one rude word provokes ten. One binge at lunch requires several long hours to work off the calories. Desire is that which defies fulfilment. The principles of ahimsa, anekanta and aparigraha are to make life poetic. To carry them beyond limits, unless you are in penance, is going against their spirit. To live them truly is the secret not just to a beautiful life but also a very sophisticated and civilised way of living.

12 Ways to Lighten Up!

Approaching your life with a non-serious attitude gives you a clearheaded view of difficulties and the energy to deal with them. Problems are easier to solve, people are more cooperative and you feel more relaxed. You probably live longer, as well.
Try these ideas until you find one that lightens you up.
1. Deliberately turn a molehill into a mountain. Make a big deal out of a little problem. "I would feel much better if these papers were stacked exactly like this! Not like that! Like this! Not this! This!"
2. Ask yourself, "Is getting serious about this situation really going to improve it?"
3. Focusing on the positives. "What is right about this situation?" "What else is right?" "What else?"
4. Consider a complete, major change. For example, go back to school, move to the ocean, start a new career.
5. Ask yourself, "When I’m on my deathbed, will I be glad I was so serious about _______?"
6. A challenging game is much better than no game at all. So consider losing all aspects of the problem. Examples: You feel serious about family problems. You ask yourself, "Well, what if I had no family at all?" You feel serious about your investments. You ask yourself, "What if I had no money to invest?"
7. The size of your problem may match the size of your game. So get a bigger game. For example, if you get uptight about paper clips being in the wrong drawer, your game size is tiny. Double your amount of responsibility. Set some huge goals. Succeed by thinking much, much bigger.
8. Stop trying to solve the problem that is making you so serious. Certain types of problems solve themselves if you leave them alone. Your problem may be one of those.
9. Compare what you are doing to other careers. Imagine being a septic tank drainer or a tax collector.
10. Make everyone around you lighten up. Share a funny story that makes fun of you. Tell some clean jokes.
11. Look at bizarre solutions. What is the craziest way you could solve your problem? What solution, if it worked, would make you laugh out loud?
12. Act stupid for a minute. Let down your hair. Stop being so darn important for a while. Be a goof!

Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.

Copyright © 2011 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard.

Emptiness is not to be confused with nothingness. Emptiness is non-existence but not nothingness. Also, it is not non-reality. Emptiness means that an object, animate or inanimate, does not have its own existence independently. It has its meaning and existence only when all the elements or components it is made of come into play and we can understand and impute its existence clearly.

By way of explanation, we are asked to observe a cup or any other container. Is the cup empty when it does not contain any liquid or solid in it? We say yes, it’s empty. But is it really empty? No, it’s not. It is full of air. Even when the glass is in a state of vacuum, it is not empty. It still contains space, radiation and maybe light.

Therefore the Buddhist point of view differs from convention. The cup is always full of something or the other. To describe it philosophically, the cup is devoid of its inherent existence. It has come into existence because of many other conditions coming into play.

It is because of these intricacies that the Buddhist concept of emptiness is often taken as nihilism. Scholars opine that western philosophy probably had a role in creating this misconception. Nihilism as a concept means that reality is unknown and unknowable, and that nothing exists. Whereas the Buddhist concept of emptiness says that ultimate reality is knowable, and that in no case should the concept of emptiness be taken to mean nothingness.

Plato held the view that there is an ideal essence in everything that we have around us, whether animate or inanimate. After all, ”the essence of the cup ultimately exists in the realm of the mind.” The Dalai Lama says that Shunyata is the absence of an absolute essence or independent existence. If a thing exists, it is because of several other factors.

One might as well ask: Is it possible to have a partless phenomenon? According to the Madhyamika school of thought, there can be no phenomenon without constituents. Every phenomenon in the universe has to have parts or constituents to come into being.

The Dalai Lama’s book, Art of Living , makes our understanding of the perception of reality clearer. He says, ”as your insight into the ultimate nature is deepened and enhanced, you will develop a perception of reality from which you will perceive phenomena and events as sort of illusory. And that mode of perceiving reality will permeate all your interactions with reality.

Even emptiness itself, which is seen as the ultimate nature of reality, is not absolute, nor does it exist independently. We cannot conceive of emptiness as independent of a basis of phenomenon, because when we examine the nature of reality, we find that emptiness itself is an object. Look for its essence and we will find that it is empty of inherent existence. Therefore, the Buddha taught of the emptiness of emptiness.”

On an average every human is in the grip of miseries, ever since they entered in the realm of time and mind and lost the awareness of Self. Hence they are confused that why are they in grip of miseries. One yearns to get rid of misery and prolong pleasure. The greatest misery is death that hounds every living soul. Suffering is inevitable as long as one identifies with mind and body — as long as one is spiritually unconscious. Suffering is external and is caused by external agents. We suffer due to resentment and hatred or jealousy towards others. That is like dying every moment due to suffering. Let’s move away from those ‘others’ and remove the cause of suffering or every minute-death. With cause at some distance, we will immortalise pleasure and distance ourselves from death. Inevitable will become evitable. Mortal will become immortal.

Scriptures however say this is short-lived; Kaliyuga is the age of kalah or quarrel. The result is suffering. Sages diagnosed the basic cause of our problems; the cause is forgetfulness of our eternal relationship with Krishna and while remaining in such a state, indulging in various activities that lead to incremental suffering. The problem is that our mind always dwells in the past or in the future. To ensure that it remains in control, seeks continuously to cover up the present moment with the past and the future, so, our real Self and goal becomes covered with time, and true realisation is obscured by mind, which leads to losing the cherished feelings of certainty in life.

Suppose all five members of a family fall sick, and a doctor gives his diagnosis and prescribes medication. He also arranges for nursing so that medicines are administered in a timely fashion. A helper is also arranged for regular cleaning and maintenance. This house now has patients, doctors, nurses and attendants. Can we now call the house a hospital? On the same lines, this material world is dukhalaya, a place of suffering. Everyone is suffering due to one reason or other. And everyone is suffering due to misidentification of Self with body, mind and false ego due to which we always feel insecure and incomplete.

Eventually all these egos have to be relinquished, maybe now or maybe later. If we find it hard to believe, then we will learn this hard fact when we will feel death approaching. Death is a stripping away of all that is not us or that is not ours.

Lead a full life. Relish every moment as your own and leave all egos at bay, for you need not die every moment. And for final moment, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave the powerful method of becoming immortal. Krishna mentions in the Bhagavad Gita, "Leave every dharma and surrender unto me". When you leave all dharma and perform all actions for the pleasure of the Supreme Lord, every movement, every second of yours will be immortalised. Practise working for the pleasure of the Supreme Lord and finally, in death also you will become immortal. The choice is yours.

Chanting of a mantra is another way to do meditation. Ramana Maharishi of Arunachalam said that one should search for self-identity by asking: "Who am I?" In meditation one should ask this question and with gradual evolution find calmness and peace.

The question really means, what is the source or origin of ego? To find the answers you need to be free of attitude. Give up the bhavana that you are the body related to name, profession, region, language and other such acquired identities. There is no need to have an attitude about your real nature. It exists as it always has. It is real. Some ask that does not the enquiry "who am I"? turn out, in the end, to be an empty question?

Self-enquiry is not done in vain. It is more than the repetition of a mantra. If the enquiry were a mere mental exercise, it would not be of much value. The very purpose of self-enquiry is to focus the entire mind at its source. It is not one eye searching for another eye. Neither is self-enquiry an empty formula, for it involves an intense activity of the entire mind to keep it steadily poised in pure self-awareness. Until one realises that state of pure being, the enquiry should continue. By gradual evolution in this state, it is possible for one to get permanently established in the state of self-awareness. The state of self-awareness is termed as sat-chit-anand or total bliss.

Be what you are. Lose your ego. You cannot run away from your self. Maharishi said, reject all other thoughts and persist with the enquiry "who am I?" As per Maharishi’s formula, if you keep raising the enquiry "who am I?" many thought waves will get to disappear with the enquiry.

Self-enquiry leads to knowledge of Self. One is aware of the Self even-though the Self is not objectified. When you say you do not know the Self, it means absence of related knowledge because we are so accustomed to relative knowledge that we always look for same. Because of this the goal of Self- realisation appears to be distant.

Feel yourself dismantling the false i that is ego and establish yourself in the real i and the answer to the query of "Who am I?" becomes evident. To gauge progress on the journey of Self-realisation see the degree of absence of thoughts. Self-realisation itself does not admit to progress. The obstacles are thoughts. Progress is measured by the degree of removal of these obstacles.

With self-enquiry you go to the source of these thoughts and this enquiry removes that source of thought. This process will remove all doubts and finally peace will prevail. This way we will be able to say that Self-realisation is that which is peace. All that we need to do is to keep quiet. Peace is our real nature. By realising the Self you can easily call yourself divine. Ahambrahmnsmi or " I am Brahmn" can be felt in word and spirit. Those who realise the Self are called saints. The journey is not difficult; it is achievable. Just meditate on the question: "Who am I?" and you will eventually find the answer.