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Namaste. "Say it again."

2/5/2014

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Here's a fabulous video explaining the meaning of Namaste from maybe an unlikely figure: Click

Not only does Bobby have some God in him, so do you. And so too does the person nearest to you, as well as the person farthest from you. We all do. We usually just don't realize it. 

As an aside: by God I mean something that truly can't be expressed adequately in words, but never the less is that which is infinite, eternal and inherently perfect. God is the non-physical essence that permeates all things. It is the absolute Truth, as compared to the relative truth. 

What would make you happier than to know that you've gotta a little God in you? 

And I don't mean "know it" in an intellectual sense. I mean it in a "feel it resonate so deeply that you have less than no doubt." 

That'd be some pretty good stuff, wouldn't it?

You can feel exhilaration beyond words, completeness so profound effort and desire dissolve into joy. 

And this experience can be yours at any moment, like right now. That would be through grace. Maybe it's your time, you're fated to become illumined right about now. Wouldn't that be cool? Hey, just don't rule it out. 

You can also pursue it. All upward paths lead to the same mountain top. I'll tell you about one, which is not by any means to exclude others. 

If I told you that the God in you, the inherent perfection, the bliss and indescribably awesome aspect of existence comes as a whisper from your heart and all you have to do is quiet your shouting mind, could you do it?

Just because you can't do it now, at the drop of a hat, summon it any moment you choose, doesn't mean you can't learn to do it systematically. Enter: Raja Yoga. 

Raja Yoga is an 8 step system for realizing that you've got a little God in you and for realizing that Bobby does, too. It's so old you'd have to agree that it's a discovery, not an invention. Like gravity. It works. It just does. 

Here's a link to an explanation of Raja Yoga from one of the indisputable masters of recent times: Click. 

One read through is definitely not enough. But suffice it to say, it'll put you in the ball park. Just do that, follow the 8 steps, one by one, in order. Don't stop at 3 or 7. Try to reach all the way to 8. 

All I can say it that I've dipped my toes in step 7 by following steps 1 thru 6 and not even to the letter. That has been sufficient to remove all of my doubts, to know the real Truth, apart from the relative truth about myself, and you and this experience. I can only imagine what the rest of step 7 and any part of step 8 are like. Holy cow! 

I'm really looking forward to very old age when perhaps my body won't want to move around quite so much. Because with the body still, all there is left to still is the mind. And I'm pretty sure I've been taught how to do that. If you'd like to come over to Bhakti Yoga Lounge for my 3, 4, 7 Intro to Meditation class, or the new 3, 4, 7, Deeper class, it'd be my pleasure to show you what I've been shown that has been so beneficial to me. 

Yoga chitta vritti nirodha

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How to make happier memories

7/1/2013

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Memories are what we get to keep from our experiences, but they're far from exact replicas. 

Psychologists have discovered that if you stop someone in the middle of an experience and ask them how they’re doing they’ll respond differently than they will if you ask them about the same experience after it’s over.

A memory quirk called the peak/end rule is responsible for this phenomenon. The rule states that during the process of converting experiences to memories the peak, or most intense moment, and the end especially are over-exaggerated, whereas almost the entire remainder of the experience is not used. It doesn’t matter how long or short the experience was, memory will still cherry pick the peak and end and discard the rest.

There are four possible combinations of the peak/end rule: (1) a good peak and a good end – this is ideal; (2) a bad peak and a good end – still pretty good because for memory’s sake, all’s well that ends well; (3) a good peak and bad end – the end might ruin everything, but it could be worse; and (4) a bad peak and a bad end, which can haunt you forever. 

Since we’re all trying to attain greater levels of happiness in life, let’s be thankful for the first and second scenarios when they occur and focus on what we can do to improve the third and fourth scenarios.

The good news is that with awareness of how the peak/end rule operates we can consciously shape our experiences so they're more likely to be preserved as good memories. We’re pretty fortunate to have this power, since memories fill the pages of the stories of our lives.

Before we get into it, let me explain that an experience has no predetermined duration. You can choose when it begins and ends. You’ll want to officially start an experience with something positive. For instance, you can tell yourself that your day hasn’t really started until you’re feeling that nice coffee buzz or your significant other says, “I love you.” Likewise, you get the final say in when an experience ends. You set the parameters of your experience and your mind's memory-making machinery will abide.

Above all else, try to end your experience on a good note. If you can, quit while you’re ahead. Stop quizzing yourself after you give a correct answer. Choose to end the experience when enjoyment is at a high level. Walk away from the roulette wheel after you’ve won, even if you still feel hot. For a fantastic memory, try merging the peak and the end. If only Michael Jordan would have called it a career after hitting the final shot to win the championship against the Utah Jazz. 

Alrighty then, in scenario three, you’ve so far had a good experience that is nearing its end when things take a bad turn. But you can fix it. For example, you’ve had a great vacation. But the flight home was terrible. After a long delay you got a middle seat next to a crying baby and upon arrival you found out that your checked bag was misrouted. No sweat. Don’t officially end the experience, yet. Instead, on the way home from the airport stop at one of your favorite restaurants or swing by a friend’s house for a drink and a laugh. Then tell yourself the vacation is officially over.

Have you ever heard the expression, “If you’re going through hell, keep going”? Sage wisdom. Some of the most cherished memories we humans have are our triumphs over adversity. If things are bad right now, the worst thing you can do is quit. That would put you in scenario four territory. Think of getting a large and particularly painful tattoo. Once you are in the chair you have to stick it out; otherwise, you’ll live to regret it. In other situations, try to make light of your bad luck with humor; broaden your perspective, note that there are a lot of people who still have it way worse than you do (run a Google image search for poverty), then express a little gratitude; find a silver lining, even if you have to fabricate it; and try for an 11th hour reconciliation. Even if you don’t succeed, you can always end a bad experience with an attempt to improve it.

Daniel Kahneman is considered the greatest living psychologist. He’s the only non-economist to win the Nobel Prize for Economics. If you’re interested in how we evaluate happiness in the present versus the past, why intuition sometimes works and sometimes fails miserably and why we take irrational risks check out his TED talks and other works. 


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BODY – MIND – SPIRIT

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Connect with your mind-body connection

6/25/2013

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The mind and body share a strong connection, like Siamese twins. 

Each can't exist independent of the other. The mind takes form through the body by way of the brain and the central nervous system. The body needs the mind to animate it and to experience it.   

All of our experiences in life involve some influence from both. 

The good news is that we can use our understanding of the mind-body connection to achieve greater health, performance and overall quality of life. 

* * * * * 

Mind-body medicine focuses on the interactions among the brain, mind, body and behavior, as well as the powerful ways in which emotional, mental, social, spiritual and behavioral factors can affect health.[1]

Our knowledge of the mind-body connection suggests that physical sickness and health have corresponding states of mind. We know that thoughts alone can make the body sick, as in the case of psychosomatic illness. We also know that through the Placebo Effect thoughts can heal the body. 

To the extent that we can control the nature of our thoughts about our health, we should try to keep them focused on thriving, consider health and vitality as part of our bodies' usual, enduring condition and view sickness as a temporary abnormality that will soon subside. 

The mind's capacity to influence the body's health and healing is vast. It should not be underestimated. Rather, we'd be well served to use it as a viable remedy that compliments drugs and surgery.  

* * * * * 

Success comes from doing the right things at the right times. We can prepare ourselves to make the most of our opportunities by repeatedly rehearsing perfect performances in our minds. 

We know that thoughts create the same mental instructions as actions.[2] So, we can use them to train our brains for actual performance. Top competitors and performers of all kinds have used visualization techniques to simulate perfect performances and have achieved corresponding results.  

Use your creative imagination in preparation for your perfect performance. Compose a mental movie depicting yourself in top form. Charge your story with strong emotions and vivid details and replay it often. Later, try not to act surprised when you have déjà vu because what you think may well foreshadow what you do.

* * * * * 

Chronic psychological stress is the undoing of wellbeing. 

Modern stressors abuse the fight-or-flight response we developed to protect ourselves from true threats to life and limb. Our minds interpret such stressors, like mail from collection agencies, in the same way that our ancestor's minds viewed a hungry bear arriving in their camp. To make matters worse, there is a lot more collection agency mail around today than there were hungry bears back then. 

Our perception of being under continual duress triggers the fight-or-flight response far more frequently than it was intended. Consequently, our bodies malfunction and/or break down. Stress is a major risk factor in numerous illnesses from impotence to heart disease. 

We may not be able to avoid some of the causes of stress. We can, however, respond to them better. This begins with our attitudes. If we can find a silver lining in a cloud of stress or laugh when it rains on our parade we will circumvent the stress response. Failing that, we can use deep belly inhalations combined with elongated exhalations to activate our nervous system's stress countermeasure, the relaxation response. And as our safety net, cultivating habits of regular nutrition, exercise and rest will fortify our physical defense mechanisms. 

* * * * * 

The mind-body connection is ever present. It's effect on health, performance and wellbeing grab much of the attention given to it. But the truth is that no matter what the context a snapshot of any given moment will have the fingerprints of both the mind and the body all over it. Think about it. From the mundane, such as a bad hair day, to the profound, such as walking across the Grand Canyon on a tightrope, the mind-body connection is always active. Fortunately, it's a powerful tool that is always available for us to use to make our lives better. 

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BODY – MIND – SPIRIT

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Is organic food worth the higher price?

5/26/2013

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All food was organic not so long ago. 

But that changed after corporate agriculture concerns took over the majority of our food production. Food has changed so much since that organic is now supposedly special and genetically modified food produced with synthetic chemical additives has been deemed "conventional." 

What a brave new world we live in. 

The facts and fiction about healthy, nutritious food have been so thoroughly blended that consumers could easily be confused about whether organic foods are worth their higher prices. 

This should help clear things up. 


1.  What does "organic" actually mean? 

It's a legal term (as opposed to "natural", which was hijacked by advertisers to mean absolutely anything and, therefore, nothing) defined by the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. This is a federal law, which sets the minimum acceptable standard. State organic food laws can create higher standards, but not lower. The same applies to imported foods produced internationally. 

Essentially, organic means crops and livestock were produced without certain additives or changes. 

Here are some of the highlights. 
  • Organic foods cannot be genetically modified. 
  • Synthetic chemicals cannot be used on crops or land where livestock are raised.
  • Natural poisons like arsenic are prohibited.
  • Livestock cannot be given growth hormones. 
  • Livestock cannot be given medication, unless they are sick. 
  • Livestock cannot be fed manure. 
  • Heavy metals and toxic residues cannot be added during processing. 

If you want to read the legislation here's a link to the Organic Act (click). As far as laws go, this one is pretty easy to read. If you don't want to read from the beginning, skip to Section 2105. 

Perhaps the most significant aspect of the Organic Act is what it means for "conventionally produced" foods. What it means is that if a food isn't organic it can contain all of the above prohibited substances, and more. 

2.  There are different degrees of organic.

There are several different organic food labels that mean different things. 


The green or black and white circle symbol, which you can see in the infographic to the right, can appear only on products that include 95% or more organic ingredients. 

A food label with the word “organic” means that it’s entirely organic if it’s a whole food or 95% or more of the ingredients are organic if it’s a processed food. 


The phrase “organic ingredients” applies to processed foods. It means they contain at least 70% organic ingredients. The organic symbol cannot be used on these types of products. 

Small farmers of the roadside stand variety are exempted from these labeling requirements. 


3.  Is organic more nutritious? 

Back in September 2012 a group of Stanford University researchers published the results of a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine  comparing the nutritional quality and safety of conventional versus organic food.[1] It got a lot of attention in the press. 

The Stanford scientists concluded that they couldn't find "strong evidence that organic foods are significantly more nutritious than conventional foods."[2] 


As with most stories, there are at least two sides. 

Washington State University, among others, took exception to the Stanford group's testing methodology, contending it was unnecessarily narrow and failed to include important data that would have significantly altered their conclusions.[3]
Explaining organic food label
There are quite a few other recent studies concluding that organically produced food (plants and animals) contain higher nutrients, but one point on which most scientists agree is that there is a strong need for greater study.


4.  Is there a downside to eating "conventional" food?

Conventionally produced foods may contain various substances known or suspected of increasing the risk of serious sickness. 

For instance, cancer, the second leading cause of death of Americans, can be caused by exposure to environmental toxins, some of which are present in the conventionally produced food supply.[4]

The 2010 President's Cancer Panel Report's recommendations for reducing exposure to environmental elements that increase the risk for cancer and other diseases include "[C]hoosing . . . food grown without pesticide or chemical fertilizers and washing conventionally grown produce to remove residues", as well as avoiding antibiotics and growth hormones by choosing meat raised without these medications. In other words: eat organic. [See pages xx and 44] 

The government establishes "acceptable levels" of toxins allowed in the food supply. However, many chemicals we're exposed to via food have not been evaluated for toxicity; there are simply too many to analyze given the resources allocated. For those  that have been, what the government deems an acceptable amount of toxins in your food may not be acceptable to you.  

We each have different tolerances for risk. Likewise, we value our health and the purity of our bodies to varying degrees. Eating organic food, rather than conventional food is a way to mitigate such risks, both known and presently unknown. In other words, eating organic can be viewed as purchasing a preventative health insurance policy.

Risk taking generally works out better when the risk is calculated, rather than reckless. To that end, here are some resources to help you learn more about the food you eat. 

The USDA's National Agriculture Library offers a slew of resources (here) for further reading.
 The Environmental Work Group publishes a Shoppers Guide to Pesticides in Produce, including two lists called the "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean Fifteen", and other useful consumer information for food shopping, which you can view here.

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BODY – MIND – SPIRIT

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Values: the key to contentment

4/28/2013

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Values are what matter most in life.

They are the notches on the yardstick we use to measure the success of our own lives.

When our lives reflect our values, we experience contentment. When our lives and our values are in conflict we experience stress, or even distress if they’re far out of alignment.

We don’t think about our values in day-to-day life. They can seem abstract, whereas ordinary life is usually practical. But that doesn’t mean that we should lose sight of them.

Have you ever gone through the process of identifying your individual values in order of importance?

Awareness always precedes effective action. In order to create greater harmony between your life and your values, you first have to be aware of your values. 

If you are already keenly aware of what matters most to you, have you successfully incorporated those values into your daily life?

In the quest for greater contentment the aim of action is to fill your time with valuable experiences. Because a life that embodies your values generates massive contentment.

To achieve that you must first be aware of how your time is used now. 
Then you can compare that to your most authentic life, the ideal life that enables full expression of your values. Knowledge of how your reality and your ideal differ enables you to consider practical ways to close the gap. Finally, you can act on your insights with a plan to begin making the necessary changes to increase your quality of life.

I have created a Values Hierarchy Exercise (VHE) out of my research and experience to serve as a guide for this whole process. I’ve used it several times and it’s invaluable for illuminating those deeper aspects of quality of life. I recently revised it into the Values Hierarchy Exercise 
– Expanded Edition to make it an easy to use tool for you to use, too.
When you complete this exercise, allow your mind to be free of limitations and acknowledge the importance of your feelings. The VHE is an exercise of becoming reacquainted with your deepest self. Don’t hold back. Be honest. Be thorough. Be excited about your future. 
The PATH² Values Hierarchy Exercise – Expanded Edition
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This part of you is eternally perfect

4/22/2013

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Normally, the feeling of perfection exists only in moments.

But there is a feeling of sustained perfection to be found within you.

This feeling is very similar to what would normally be described as perfect. But it’s different to what we call perfection in that it doesn’t depend on anything external (victory, accomplishment, someone else) and that it lasts indefinitely.

While I imagine there are various ways to experience this, the only one that I am familiar with is meditation.

There’s a point in meditation where the physical boundaries of your body disappear. It might be similar to being in 98.6° water. The feeling of where your body begins and ends, where it is separated from your environment, literally disappears.

Likewise, there’s a point in meditation where the mind effectively disappears. At the beginning of meditation practice the mind is full of thoughts, as usual. If the stream of thoughts passing through the mind is like water flowing from a faucet, the act of meditating effectively closes the tap and the thought flow becomes a trickle, then a drip. The spaces separating droplets of thought continue to increase until thoughts stop flowing altogether.

When the body and the mind disappear (not objectively, but relative to your perception) a feeling of absolute completeness emerges from the void.The feeling is one just like perfection experienced through action or engaging your senses with the world, but this feeling lasts longer than a fleeting moment. The feeling is accompanied by the realization that while you could open your eyes, get up and go do something, nothing you can experience “out there” will compare to the experience you are having “in here.”

You can experience this sustained perfection whenever you like because it’s a permanent part of you. Just as you are a physical body and a mind with thoughts and emotions, you are also this extremely subtle, yet unquestionably real essence.

It’s there right now, as always, but it’s hidden under your thoughts and sensations. Every time you go deep inside you’ll find it the same; perfect.

And when you experience it enough you’ll know that it’s as much a part of you as your hands are a part of your body and your personality is a part of your mind. You’ll know that a part of you is perfect.

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One Love

4/17/2013

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We were made to love. To want and need to give and receive it. 

Love is an infinitely renewable resource. Giving love produces love. Receiving love produces love. 

Love, as opposed to lust, is also a feeling of connection. It's gratitude for the existence of someone or something. And it's the source of a selfless wish that all will be well. 

Only when we lose the love of ourselves can we begin to hate each other. Love is lost to ignorance of our inherent perfection and unity in life. 

Try hard to nurture love whenever it can be found like an ember you can delicately coax into a flame that will grow into a warming glow for everyone to gather around. 

Strive to periodically return to the peaceful stillness underneath your thoughts and actions where love waits to refresh your spirit. 

Be curious about yourself, the world and the people you share it with and you'll invariably discover something that pulls on your heart strings. 

Try to lose your sense of individual self by doing something altruistic, however big or small, and you'll find the great connection among us all. 

However it speaks to you, act upon "A five-word sentence that could change the world tomorrow [which] is 'What would love do now?'"  – Neale Donald Walsch

Read the classic, The Art of Loving, by Psychologist Erich Fromme for an insightful description of the history and variety of the greatest human emotion and how to cultivate it to enrich your life and the world. 

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Flow: The perfect experience

4/14/2013

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Britney Spears once expressed a truly brilliant insight (seriously!) that applies to us all: “I wanna get in the zone.”

The Gatorade commercial from the 1990s featuring Michael Jordan that had people saying “I’d like to be like Mike” was sensationally popular because it tapped into the same thing: our desire to get in the zone, which during that era was embodied most visibly by MJ on the basketball court.

Likewise, the comparably popular Nike golf commercial where a diverse group of people spoke the same line “I am Tiger Woods” targeted exactly the same psychology. Tiger dominated the game of golf so thoroughly in the early 2000s that he single-handedly made golf cool
 – almost. No mean feat. So how did he do it? Because in Tiger Woods the golfer we saw someone completely in the zone, dominating not just the golf course and the field but also the apparent limitations of body and mind.  It's a deeply alluring trait.

The zone, known as flow in psychology circles, is so attractive that we will happily live vicariously through someone who we see in it, like Tiger or Michael. Flow liberates the spirit from the confines of the body and mind so completely that people often describe the experience as out-of-body and as being unconscious. The result is nothing short of euphoria. Even when the experience is second hand we still feel it and love it.

But we don't have to rely on others to feel that thrill. Everyone can get in the flow, not just ultra-elite performers. In fact, there are as many entry points to the flow as there are individuals.

Enter flow by following your passion. Search your past and identify an activity you have found so engaging that minutes passed like seconds or hours like minutes. It will have involved these four elements: 1. your skills, 2. values, 3. interests and 4. a challenge. 

Finding your entry to the flow is that simple. However, there aren't very many qualifying experiences. That scarcity contributes to its value, so appreciate it. 

    Where Flow Lives

Picture
Then commit 100% to experiencing it again. Eliminate distractions. Focus intensely. Look for that elusive, magical quality in the details of whatever it is you’re doing and you’ll find it. 

For more insights from science and experience read Flow: The Psychology of Optimum Experience. 

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The difference between mindfulness and meditation

4/10/2013

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These two words, mindfulness and meditation, are often used interchangeably, but they are not synonyms.

Both involve heightened states of awareness. Both are beneficial in myriad ways. And that’s where the similarities end.

Mindfulness is about noticing the interplay between you and your environment, whereas meditation is about immersing yourself in the world deep within yourself.

The aim of a mindfulness practice is to notice what’s happening now, as opposed to thinking about the past or the future. You can practice mindfulness while you’re doing other things like driving, conversing and eating.

Developing a mindfulness practice is as simple as focusing your attention on one, some or all of the following:
  • What do you see, hear, smell and feel around you? 
  • What sensations do you feel on the exterior and the interior of your body?
  • What thoughts are flowing through your mind? 
  • What feelings do you have about your surroundings, sensations and thoughts? 

Do that and voila! You’re practicing mindfulness.

You can know that you’ve developed a strong mindfulness practice when you find yourself in the flow and can return there often.

The concept of flow, i.e. being in the zone, is a deep form of mindfulness that we’re probably all familiar with. Whether it’s playing an instrument, a sport, or something else, nothing exists outside of the flow, not the audience or the noise in the arena. Not even the arena. Flow is complete absorption in the task at hand. That’s as close as mindfulness comes to meditation.

When it comes to meditation there is no task.

A quick, but important mention about the word meditation: It’s Latin for “deep contemplation.” Compare that to the Sanskrit word dhyana, which is a state of consciousness beyond the thinking mind. I’m actually speaking about dhyana, here. But I don’t want to complicate an already subtle subject, so I’m using meditation, instead. 

The practice leading to meditation is about stilling the mind. Activity, even if it can be performed without concentrating, such as something habitual like walking, engages the mind. Therefore, the practice leading to meditation is a solitary one. You can’t meditate while you’re doing other things, either physically or mentally. That’s why it often happens seated in silence with eyes closed.

Yet even sitting crossed legged with your eyes closed is no guarantee you’ll enter a state of meditation. If you’re noticing your legs aching and the wind whistling through the trees you’re not meditating. But you are practicing mindfulness, which is actually good preparation for the practice leading to meditation.

More specifically, this is how a mindfulness practice can evolve into a meditation practice. First, practice mindfulness to develop your ability to focus. It doesn’t matter what on. The aim is to restrain the mind from roaming boundlessly. Next, narrow the focus of your attention by concentrating on an object. Begin with a physical object. Try selecting one with either a positive connotation or none at all. When you can concentrate for a sustained period of time, switch the object of your attention to something subtler, like a sound or a simple concept. Next, remove that focal point and focus on either your ability to focus or nothing at all. After focus becomes both the subject and the object of your attention, relinquish the effort to focus at all. Eventually, subject and object merge into One.

When your attention dissolves in a formless, timeless realm that “feels” complete you’re in meditation. That state can’t easily be described with words because words are a tool of the intellect and meditation is a state beyond the intellect. Nevertheless, you’ll know when you’re there.

Practice mindfulness and you'll eventually experience meditation, which yields profound enjoyment of the gift of simply being alive.

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Who am I? When was the last time you asked yourself?

4/7/2013

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Many spiritual teachers and philosophers have emphasized the value of finding the answer to this question, or at least seeking to answer it.

Some have even said that within the answer to this question lie the answers to all others.

If you haven’t sought to answer it, the world has probably attempted to answer it for you. But the only label that really matters is the one you give yourself. 

Usually our label or identity speaks to the way our bodies look and the things it can do, or our minds – our personalities and ideas, and/or our relations to others.

In defining ourselves we rarely consider our spiritual identities. That's because it's just not practical. Or is it?

Unlike a body or mind-centered identity, which reinforces the idea of separateness and individuality, having a strong spiritual identity expands the notion of who we are.

Spirit has an ethereal quality that permeates the fibers from which the sense-based world is woven. It is the underlying essence of all that appears to be real.

Connecting with this makes us also feel more connected to each other and the rest of creation. It helps us to appreciate that some part of us is also a part of everything else. 

Experiencing life through the lens of a spiritual identity helps us understand Ramana Maharshi, a spiritual luminary, when he said, “There are no others.” He is directing our attention away from our apparently separate existences to point out that we are just different leaves on different branches of the same tree of life. True separateness is merely an illusion.

What does this mean in day-to-day life? There can be no loneliness, even in times of being alone. There are no true adversaries. There is only unity in diversity, a common ground from which we’ve grown and are sustained.

If you want a rational, Western explanation of the Self as spirit, I highly recommend Fritjof Capra’s classic, The Tao of Physics.

Or connect with some of your contemporaries to learn their thoughts and feelings on the matter. TED Conversations: The Age Old Question: “Who am I?”

So who are you?

I’d love to hear how you answer that question. 


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