Letting go of the Person I use to be.

"When you are free from craving for sense pleasures and when you are aware of emptiness, you are free in a supreme way and that will not change. It's like a flame struck by a gust of wind; in a flash the flame has gone out."

I've reached a place in my life where I have to think about the person I use to be and the person I am in order to discover the person I want to be. When I think of the person I use to be, I start to think about who I was in past lives and how those may carry over into this one. How it may affect me from truly being Me in this life. I just recently opened my Akashic Records. They are a universal filing system which record every occurring thought, word, and action: a collection of mystical knowledge stored in the etheric levels. The vibrational records of each individual soul and its journey are contained here, making it a profound spiritual resource for consciousness development and expanded spiritual awareness. The Records have been recognized as a reservoir of useful insight, guidance, wisdom and healing information from the past, present and future. The Records are governed by the Three Absolutes: Fear Not, Resist Not, and Judge Not. This makes for a very safe and loving and also encouraging environment.

This experience has brought so much peace and understanding to my life. It explains and helps you make sense of why you are the way you are and why you are in the circumstances you are in. If I have ever believed in the expression "Everything Happens for a Reason" is now more than ever. It has giving me a greater sense of purpose and reaffirmed me that the path I am on is the right one.

If you are a Facebook friend you have probably read all the self awakening quotes I am sharing. I hope they inspire you. Here in this blog, is where I really get deep into my thoughts and feelings.

I've been going to meditation every week for the past month and a half and I've learned the concept of being present; in the moment, in every situation I find my self in. With every inhalation and exhalations comes a new moment. Is this idea of Just Be. Buddhist teach that if you find yourself in a situation that you can't change, then Just Be. What does that mean? I am now finding out how much work is behind this Just Be idea, and by work I mean inner work - looking in oneself for wisdom, guidance and strength. The idea is not to follow anybody but to understand oneself. In oneself lies the whole world, & if you know how to look & learn, then the door is there & the key is in your hand. Nobody on earth can give you either that key or the door to open, except yourself.

A friend of mine share this quote with me the other day: “Children are natural Zen masters; their world is brand new in each and every moment.” - John Bradshaw. This is something I shared in an earlier post and I believe it now more than then, because I am looking within and striving for understanding of this idea and as I see my daughter live her life in such manner, I get inspiration and strength from her as well. She is my rock.

I am reading a book by the same author of Awakening your Inner Buddha - Lama Surya Das - called Letting go of the Person I used to be. Is a book of lessons on change, loss and spiritual transformation based on Buddhist Teachings. This book, along with meditation, it is helping me to stay centered and balanced in my life today. Shortly after my friend shares that with me, I read in my book about The Toddler's Creed:
If I want it, it's mine.
If I give it to you and then change my mind, it's mine.
If I can take it away from you by force, it's mine.
If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
If I we are playing with something together, then all the pieces are mine.
If it looks like just like the one I used to own or have at home, it's mine.

The problem is that since we all get our sense of significance from the things we are attached to, "Mine" translates to "Me, Myself and I" as we grow up and develop into adults. The reality is that most of us are still "two-year-old toddlers" with this mindset. This self-centered attitude is the root of all the unhappiness we feel. The Buddha teaches that neither pleasure nor pain are ultimately very satisfying because both are feelings that come and go. Due to this toddler mindset, no matter how much we have or don't have, we keep seeking for more, we are never satisfied or fulfilled. We are never content. When you look within and choose to take a spiritual path toward wisdom and enlightenment, it implies that we are trying to be a little less toddler-like with the things we want and are attached to. Since many of us find this inner work hard to do or we just don't know how, we have been conditioned to believe that another person is going to "save me". That all we have to do is find Prince or Princess Charming, who will complete me and satisfy me in every way, then my life will make sense and everything will work out. Don't we all want to believe this myth. There some much emptiness to this illusion and that emptiness can only be filled by oneself.

Looking within means finding oneself and that is hard to do because it means letting go of the person we use to be. Letting go of the person we used to be means letting go of the attachments that "define" us. What makes it such a hard thing to do, to let go, is that we feel as if letting go of those attachments means we are letting go of ourselves rather than finding ourselves. A friend of mine share this with me: "It's hard...we want to feel significant in this life...accomplished and like we counted for something...so I feel like the world will fall apart without me (especially my family's) but the reality is that it won't. And truly realizing that is extremely humbling because then you ask yourself, "Well then, why am I here?". And the answer is, "To just be.". And when I embrace that, my world feels lighter and I'm able to be a better person, mom, daughter, friend...it's a cycle that feeds into itself." This is a person whom I know first hand understand the work involved to Just Be and, despite how hard it is, tries to put it into action every day of her life.

The path to enlightenment is the path of becoming more fully awake and conscious of ourselves.

Peace of Mind...

Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.
-John Wooden

How to achieve peace of mind. Very hard to do. Yesterday I learned that a key to success is having your mind and your heart working together as one. Finding that balance between the constant battle we have on a day to day basis. Your heart says one thing, your mind says another. How could we possibly find balance and inner peace. I read this article that my wife found on the internet and it really made me aware of this conflict which I know happens to a lot of us. The article is called How to Make Your Heart and Your Mind Work Together by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead, you can check it out at http://zenhabits.net/how-to-make-your-heart-and-your-mind-work-together/

In the article he says that "It’s typical in our society to feel a conflict between what we want to do (our heart) and what we feel is practical (our mind)."

As I finished reading the article and took in all that it said, the one thing that stuck out the most to me is the fact that the solution is simple. That we must ask ourselves a simple question before we make any decisions: Is this decision/choice working for me or against me? In order to do this we have to clear the mind, and give it breaks so is not always on. When you calm your mind and your senses, you become conscious of your always-present inner Self. How do we do that, through meditation. It's one of the best, most individual and personal experience I've ever had. This will be my first step towards achieving control over my mind in hopes to have a better sense of my inner self. A free and silent mind is always in meditation, so I encourage one and all to try it. Either go to center to do it or find audio cd's with guided meditations. Whichever route you choose, know that Meditation is the gateway, through which you arrive to the world of freedom.

The power of connections

Yesterday I had dinner with my uncle and we were suppose to talk about marketing since I am going to be assisting him in that department in his medical office, but instead we talked about me. He wanted to know what was my reality today, this instance, based on the circumstance surrounding me. So I did - I talked and talked and talked and let my emotions out. All he did was listen, he only gave advice when he felt it was needed:

Life is all about people and the connections you create with them. To ensure that every person you come in contact with you uplift them and make them feel good about themselves. In turn, that will make you feel good about yourself.

Wow! How do you do that, how unselfish is that. He didn't have to care, he could've just went on talking about his marketing needs. Instead he made me feel good and inspired me to do the same in my relationships. At the end of it all he finishes by telling:

That is marketing, it starts from within and if I touch and uplift each patient that walks through my door then my marketing in done.

I don't think I have been that inspired and that moved in a long time.

How I plan to apply that in my life; is to be and live the change I aspire others to be day in and day out. Let the uplifting begin!