The New Math

1 Second = 1 Hour = 3600 Seconds

1 Second of the confluence earning = 1 Hour of iron age earning.

I am learning many things. Is my investment worthwhile?

Foreign Travel

Some thoughts of African drummers - its a wonderful culture... It is a free life - go where I want, do what I want... Its the only time in the cycle where one can visit the whole world... Africa... Australia...

The other night I dreamt of being on a bridge in Hongkong... Its like being a child again! Possibilies! Mental associations! Curious as I don't really have any interest in these places...

Songs, dance, culture... these are superficial too... I mean, you die after all that fizz. But I'm eternal... and this life gives the whole picture of the past and the future...

I love the open spaces of Africa! Actually I love open spaces everywhere!

Thoughts of serving Nigeria... Burkina Faso... Muslim countries... multiple religions...It is one family...

Pain and Emotions

I am very uncertain about what emotion I am experiencing... the body certainly reacts in fairly consistent manner.

Sometimes there is pain in some spots in the middle back muscles. This is usually when I am having one of the following: [under pressure, overwhelm, uncertain, scared, trying to control, being rebellious, feeling guilty]. I'm not sure which one I feel, but I can argue that one or the other is probably happening.

Sometimes there is intense lower back pain in the bone - but this is rare and am not sure if it is to do with the posture or actually due to an emotion. Sometimes there is stiffness in the neck - I think this is perhaps due to abuse of the neck while sitting in a bent position for using the laptop or the blackberry.

Once I had a rare heavy headedness for sometime - it seemed like due to the cold but was also thinking intensely at that time. Learning seems to make me interested and relaxed. Being evaluated gets the back tense again...hmmm...

Intense research brings back pain... realised and got off it...no pain while watching Lionking trailer video on the net. Enjoyed it much... reminded me of myself!

Sometimes there is pain the in the lower ribs. No clue why.

I sit in a funny posture with weight put on my left elbow resting on the armrest of the chair. I'm sure that's not a good posture but it feels comfortable under certain emotional states.

Some pain in the feet. Some in the toes at times. Heaviness in the chest - actually not heaviness but as though some weight it put on it... coughing as I thought of this... hmmm...

The body is my barometer for sure and I LOVE researching - observing myself and recording all this. Pity I don't understand the language yet. I'm not formally meditating but I sure am having fun!

Am I reading too much into this emotional connection bit? Some instant coughing! It's funny :)

Environmental connection

All environmental issues have their origin in the word mental.
Clean the mind to green the world.

Body and Soul

The body is my instrument. It does work on autopilot through the nervous system.

The soul is a seed. Sanskars are the DNA. When sown in the body of mud, the sanskars emerge. This emergence is due to the thoughts generated in the mind from the sanskars. Dominant experiences are recorded in the brain - phobias, philias are seen emerging already...

The body is a puppet as well as a biofeedback system. As the thought, so the body... as the body... so the emotional state.

Knowledge is also stored in the sanskars. This can be innate or acquired. The innate knowledge powers the conscience. The acquired knowledge powers the intellect. The conscience is ethical, non-dual, intuitive decision making. The intellect is moral, dualistic, rational decision making.

Intellect makes decisions on the basis of knowledge. Rajayoga empowers the intellect by feeding Godly knowledge. Reflection and meditation uses the knowledge, expands it onto the mind, generates experiences and realizations and stores this back in the sanskars as a more refined knowledge.

Silence allows connecting to the innate knowledge, listening to the voice of the conscience. Empowers the conscience. This is emerging it. When I don't listen, the conscience is merged.

Divine intellect is the gift of Godly knowledge. Pure intellect is not influenced by body consciousness.

Head - Intellect based rational, logical decisions
Heart - emotion based, desire based, feelings

When there is no attention or focus, body conscious thoughts and random thoughts start appearing. Random thoughts are based on recency, importance, emotional charge, curiosity...

Why Hesitate?

I notice hesitation. I don't jump in headlong into purusharth even after having declared my bold intention for self development. Why hesitate?

There is hesitation in doing something or going deeper when there is lack of clarity. The first step is to gain clarity. to seek and learn from available sources and if needed to ask others to gain that clarity...

Mastering the basics

The fundamentals are the key. If I don't master them, I will go on until the situations start to go out of control due to the extra work needed on account of lack of mastery.

Time must be invested into mastering the basics if I am really interested in mastering any domain.

A good rest, a calm mind, a though through focused approach yields phenomenal results.

What is a Rajayogi life?

• A rare gift
• A journey in self mastery
• A transformative experience
• The greates drama, sport, battle, test, romance
• Being courted, cajoled, persuaded, instructed, commanded, exhorted, loved, adored, befriended, blessed, created, sustained by God
• The highest balcony view of life
• A masterpiece of God
• Not everyone's cup of tea!
• The fruit of seeking and devotion
• The best of times in the worst of times
• A high stakes game
• A thrilling adventure
• The mirror of the past and the view into the future

What is an individual life?

• A means of self expression and experience
• A vital component in the grand drama of life
• An influence on the rest of the system
• A part of that individual's overall journey
• Beautiful in the big picture view

Benefits of Purusharth

• heightens the peak quality of life possible
• increases the duration of each high quality life
• increases the proportion of high quality lives
• provides the ultimate life experience right now

Ultimately what matters is...

• Am I aligned to Truth? Are my choices based on Truth?
• Am I providing lasting value to myself and others?

Deeply grateful

I feel deeply grateful to myself for having taken time out for personal spiritual endeavour. This time after much deliberation, I have invested significantly into myself. And it's about time. I feel so light about it that any objections from others are easy to handle.

I said no in the short term to:

• Opportunity to serve and influence several leaders
• National service projects
• Significant financial benefits and career growth
• Tremendous learning and opportunity for certified excellence
• In depth relationships with an excellent network
• Opportunity for getting personal coaching
• Outstanding success from a professional perspective
• Admiration from family and friends
• Power and prestige through influential contacts
• A great branding opportunity that would be valuable in service

I said yes to:

• Being aligned to my purpose and long term vision
• Being true to myself first
• Spiritual endeavour first followed by service

Sounds foolish... besides, can't you do both at the same time? In fact won't service of others naturally develop spiritual endeavour?

All I know is that I know myself well enough by now. I have tried doing service and self progress for a while now. And sure, there is self progress while doing service but am I satisfied? Am I meeting my goals?

I need to master the fundamentals. It needs dedicated time and I want to give it my best - not do it after I have met all my commitments.

But does it need to be all or none? Can't you say yes to some service at least?
Well, knowing me, service can't stay far away anyday. I'm not saying no to service. I'm saying yes to myself first.

The last two days were fantastic... and I want to maintain momentum.
As he said - 'Be a little child. Say - Mummy, you take care of it'

New Year Wishes

Someone sent me wishes:

Life is Short...
Forgive quickly,
Believe slowly,
Love truly,
And...
Never regret anything that made you smile...
Every Little Smile can touch Somebody's heart

WISH YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Here was my response - longer phrases but closer to my heart:

Wish you a year of cheer and fresh progress!
You are eternal...
Apply a full stop and move on quickly
Have faith that all will be well eventually
Love everyone and everything truly
And...
Never regret anything because everything and everyone has an important lesson to teach you...
Your spiritual presence will transform people's hearts...

Wish you a profound new year!