At The Beginning of Mind

It is fun to observe the different ways in which the mind BEGINS moving in any given moment!

If you slow down enough, you might realize that the entire world as we seem to be entering (OR expecting to experience the world AS IT APPEARS TO BE) is actually RECONSTRUCTED in the mind first!

Some parts of the RECONSTRUCTED WORLD is factual - like geography, etc. However, most 'soft' COMPONENTS (but having the 'hardest' impact on you) of the world you are EXPECTING to step-in, in the NEXT MOMENT, is pure IMAGINATION largely based on PAST experiences. The opportunity is to use more of CHOICE instead of the DEFAULT instinctive (or conditioned) imagination.

The 'danger' is that it is mostly the NEGATIVE past impressions that dominate our world view. Once you realize that YOUR IMAGINATION is the SOURCE of your upcoming experiences then you have better control over results achieved.

Try it is out, it is the easiest way to get a taste of omnipotency!

Shifts in Being

Let me notice WHAT my current World is
What am I thinking about people around me and my current situation
These perceptions are likely to persist even in new circumstances
My circumstances are arising out of my own internal conversations
What are my opinions about the recent (and older) happenings in my life?
WHO do I think is wrong? WHAT do I think is wrong?
Irrespective of the apparent truth, these stories are my own creations!
In the external world, I will continue to SEE whatever is in My Mind!
The more I am attached to my opinions the more they will show up in new people and places
The way out is to simply start LOOKING at the world coming from my Highest Vision of the life I wish to experience

The Challenge to be Completely Free!

Every moment, life shows up in a certain manner. There is great temptation to react - mind jumps to conclusions, forms opinions and suggests a series a actions based on past experiences!

Observe ...How original are your thoughts? Are you thinking freely or merely pretending to do so? Is your mind creating freely, or, do you simply have a well-conditioned "computer" which is reacting efficiently to the world?

A Completely Free State can lead to so many interesting things....one of them is Complete Responsibility...another one is Choosing a Creative Response (frequently, a challenge to be extraordinary)......but, that happens spontaneously...there is Absolute Choice and not a reaction to the world!

Paradoxically, "surrender" is an access to freedom. He is a beautiful exerpt from How to Use Your Spiritual Power and Influence:

To some people, surrender is a four-letter word, a word that suggests the loss
of power. Look at it another way: surrender is just an expression of FREEDOM -- the freedom to let inspiration flow, the freedom to love. After all, we can't love if we can't let love flow. In that sense, surrender is a way of GAINING tremendous power, and using power effectively in the world.
One fine day, we will recognize what surrender really is -- something so natural, we almost don't even notice it. In that recognition, we experience great relief.
Relief in doing. When we are doing the right thing, we sometimes get special help. Perhaps, this time it seems easy to do something that was hard to do in the past. We feel a certain wind in our sails. We begin to realize that we are becoming part of a larger, more graceful process.
Relief in speech. Likewise, when we speak, we don't always have to rehearse, or think it over. The right words seem to come -- we seem to communicate perfectly, and it all seems right. Even if the subject is difficult, everyone is happy to hear the words of truth, and everyone walks away heartened and glad.
Relief from figuring out what to do. Sometimes, we don't have to think about the right thing to do, it just comes to us: "Yes! This is what I should do!" And when we do that, whatever it is, things seem to work perfectly. The more we follow that kind of inspiration, the better things work.
Surrender gives us this new ease and this new power: the freedom to act spontaneously as the spirit moves, in accordance with true spiritual inspiration. The secret of surrender is this:Surrender is when sole responsibility yields to soul response ability.

So, are you RESPONDING or are you REACTING to life? How often do we meet this challenge thrown to us every moment?

The Great Path

Sweet Krishna shares Tao's Great Way at Deciphering Spirituality:
How do you know you are on the Way?
When your map no longer serves you.

As we move through life, it is interesting to look at the paradox of a "path". The mind always "calculating" to find the Best Path. There are a million paths in this world and yet NO path is needed. Castenada shares:

All paths are the same: they lead nowhere.

He goes on:

Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good;
if it doesn't, it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn't. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you. Before you embark on any path ask the question: Does this path have a heart? If the answer is no, you will know it, and then you must choose another path. The trouble is nobody asks the question; and when a man finally realizes that he has taken a path without a heart, the path is ready to kill him. At that point very few men can stop to deliberate, and leave the path. A path without a heart is never enjoyable. You have to work hard even to take it. On the other hand, a path with heart is easy; it does not make you work at liking it.

....

So, there is NO path - simply a JOURNEY in which your awareness expands leading you to OPEN UP your HEART, open up to people, open up to life and open up to your Infinite Glory!

10 Reasons Why I Blog

On Nhea's invitation at Extremes: 10 Reasons Why I Blog, here are my reasons for blogging:

1. Maintain an online journal
2. Share thoughts on subjects I love
3. Build communities in areas of my interest
4. Expand knowledge on many subjects
5. Meet many interesting people
6. Improve writing skills
7. Keep myself updated on world news
8. Increase my awareness of other points of view
9. Explore the unknown
10. Come out my shell and 'expose' myself to the world, and thus KNOW THE SELF!

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Ten Reasons Why I Blog 1. Mel Avila Alarilla , Extremes - Nhea , Amarendra - The Unseen,

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Dropping the Noise - The Internal Dialogue!

You must learn how to stop your internal dialogue at will.

...I (had) delineated another procedure: walking for long stretches without focusing the eyes on anything. My recommendation was to not look at anything directly but, by slightly crossing the eyes, to keep a peripheral view of everything that presented itself to the eyes. If one keeps one's unfocused eyes fixed at a point just above the horizon, it is possible to notice, at once, everything in almost the total 180-degree range in front of one's eyes.

That exercise is the only way of shutting off the internal dialogue.

....

Nothing of what we do, with the exception of stopping the internal dialogue, can by itself change anything in us, or in our idea of the world!

~"Tales of Power", by Carlos Castaneda