HOW TO LIVE AS IF YOU MEAN IT

In 2001 my husband and I took a giant leap of faith. In our mid-forties, we quit our jobs, sold everything and closed down the life we had built in the Bahamas to embark on a new adventure in India. Being on staff at an ashram had been a long held dream and we were thrilled to be grabbing the opportunity with both hands.

Fast-forward two years. While the experience at the ashram was transformational, we knew it was time to start looking for work. We also knew that as challenging as closing down a former life might have been, finding new work opportunities would offer a unique set of challenges.

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HOW TO COME HOME TO YOURSELF

“Man stands in his own shadow and wonders why it’s dark.” ~Zen Proverb

There was once a man who loved to complain and find fault with everyone and everything. Nothing pleased him, so he moved from one town to another, declaring as he left each place:

“I am going to another town, where the people are friendlier.”

A wise man perceived what the problem was, and as the angry man began striding along the dusty road to yet another destination, the wise man compassionately called out:

“Oh brother, moving from place to place does not serve you well. Wherever you go, there you will also find yourself. Your shadow is always with you.”

It took me a long time to understand that in part, this was my story too. In early 2001, after taking leave of my job and arriving at an ashram in India, I anticipated the months there would be filled with experiences of light, peace, and expansion.

However within days, I was assigned to work with a young woman who could be charming one minute and explosive the next. I was shocked and began pondering:

“How could such an angry person be in this sacred place?”

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WHY THROW EVERYTHING AWAY?

A spiritual seeker went to a renowned Master, asking to be accepted into monastic life. The Master consented and after agreeing to obey certain requirements, the seeker settled into a steady rhythm of meditation, contemplation, service and scriptural study.

However, early one morning the seeker heard that a fellow monk who had been studying with the Master for a number of years, had packed his bags in the middle of the night and fled.

Shocked and in a state of disbelief, the seeker decided to go to the Master and ask how this could be possible? Why, would someone intent on liberation throw everything away?

When the seeker offered these questions, the Master listened, nodded and sat in silence for several, long minutes. Then the Master stated,

“On the spiritual path what happens between a seeker and his or her Master is between them.

*Why are you concerned about someone else and his state?

*What about you?

*What about your state?

*Why are you so easily thrown off-center?

-These things you must always be willing to ask yourself. Until you do you will attain nothing.”

Copyright-2011

Excerpt from: 'BE YOUR OWN GURU' a transformational online course in conjunction with Daily Om. For details go to: www.truealignment.org