Create A New Earth A New World A New Life

 

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Genesis 1:1-2

Now I am a Christian and a Catholic to boot; so everyone may not resonate with my thinking. That’s fine. On the other hand, deep down in our hearts I’m sure, is a deep longing to return to our source, our Origin, wherever or whatever that might be, regardless of what our religious beliefs and affiliations might be, including those who do not believe in God (atheists?), Some call this source God, some prefer to call it Vital Force Energy, some say Divine Energy.

Saint Augustine states it very succinctly, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

I often imagine the Spirit of God hovering over the earth, constantly taking note of all that is going on and happening. And then I begin to wonder, does God / Divine  Spirit worry about all that is happening in the world? But then can the Divine worry? I should think not. A quote from a novel I read a long time ago comes to my mind, “God is not dead, he refuses to get involved”, from The Drifters by James A Michener.

The smell of fear and death is all pervading. We have tired of knocking at the doors of Doctors Clinics and Hospitals, we have despaired of help from Government and government agencies, we

have quarrelled and abused family members for not being there for us. And now we come begging to God. “If you really exist then why don’t you do something”. God is not dead he refuses to get involved. Or is He? I mean Dead? Or did I mean Deaf?

Now why is it that in whatever situation we find ourselves, we
always look outside ourselves: be it for affirmation, be it for solutions, be it in sickness, you name it. It never occurs to us to look into ourselves, to introspect, to take responsibility. You disagree? I’m sure you do. And so we come up with blaming statements like: the government has failed us, the medical fraternity has failed us, you can’t depend on any one today (neither kith nor kin), you can’t trust anyone, they are all cheats, all they want is to rob you….stop, stop, stop!!!!

This Pandemic is a case in point. We have run out of ideas just as it seems we have run out of vaccines and oxygen which we thought would save us finally. Let us not run out of Faith, Hope and Love and Self-Responsibility.

Go to God? Yes indeed! But not a God outside of myself. Once

again the Book of Genesis comes to our rescue. (Oh! You need not believe in it, it just echoes the throbbing of the ages of man’s heart) The Book of Genesis comes under the category of “Primeval history”. There is nothing historical about it. It states, “God created man in his own image and likeness, in his own image he created him”. And you might ask me, “do you really belive that?” Yes I do, far more than I believe in any Government, Science, Medical establishment. What that means is that I have within me all the resources I need to face any situation I might possibly face. Yes go to God, the God in your heart. Introspect.

Change your energy level. Instead of blame, let us send blessings, instead of fault finding, let us be compassionate, let us be grateful for all that we have ever received; our gift of life, the natural gifts of our bodies: Eyes, Ears, a Heart that beats night and day, our blood that circulates 24x7, Oh! Yes our lungs, liver, kidneys and all the rest. We have taken everything we have for granted, and used them ruthlessly having absolutely no regard for them. And what about the gift of nature that God gave us. The only natural source of Oxygen our beautiful trees we have selfishly cut down just as we have destroyed the natural resources of life giving water; and where has it led us; I shall not speak more. I think you get the point.

The situation all around us is simply an expression of who we are inside of ourselves. To change the world, we need to change ourselves. When we live a life of peace and compassion, being grateful for all that is, most certainly we will create a new world. So release the power of Love and Forgiveness and as Eckhart Tolle would say, "Create A New Earth"

Suggested readings: "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle, "The Gentle Art of Blessing" by Pierre Pradervand.

 

 

 

Healing Prayer

 

How Happy Are You!

Happiness is not a Destination

Happiness is within me from the moment I am conceived! But I have NO awareness of it. Life is all about discovering that HAPPINESS.

I wonder how many of us would accept that! Happiness is not a destination. Then what is it? Is it not what all of us want? I have time and again asked people in personal talks, in counselling, in Seminars and even in railway train conversations, "what is it you want most in life?" And the the answer invariably would be the same, "HAPPINESS"

Material Wealth

So we are all busy in the business of finding happiness. We work hard to make enough money and hope to be happy. We buy gold and silver, jewelry and cosmetics, land and houses, cars and what not. But where is happiness?
In fact the "Pain" quotient just goes higher. We now have to protect our wealth, and create fear. Fear of being robbed, fear of being cheated, relationships that once were cordial now turn "sour" as we begin to distrust. We become competitive in work and business, dishonest create enemies. I'm sure you get the idea. But where is "HAPPINESS".

Power and Position 

If it is not Material wealth, then ofcourse it is Power and Position. As I grow wealthier (or poorer), I convince myself happiness is just round the corner, once I get that promotion. Once I am in charge, once I am the BOSS. But all it brings is headaches, and headaches and more headaches. Not to mention, ulcers, and backaches, and sleepless nights. But "HAPPINESS" where is "HAPPINESS"

As though that is not enough, I take to social drinking, then to smoking, friends convince me gambling and drugs will enhance my image and soon I find myself spiraling down a bottomless well. But NO Happiness.

Relationships (legitimate or otherwise)

Then ofcourse in our search for Happiness, we have always turned to relationships, companionships, friendships, Oh! Yes, marriage, family. Call it what you like, for we have always believed that someday, somehow, somewhere, I will find someone who will truly love me just the way I want to be loved, who will accept me just the way I am  and who will never find fault with me. Unfortunately that just never happens and so happiness remains an illusion.

What is worse, that in whom I hoped to find happiness, has now become a drag! A source of pain and suffering for me. He or she (as the case might be) now expects me to fulfill his or her needs. Or blatantly makes use of me and all I possess and Am.

Then there is the relationship where I have become in a sense addicted. I have become attached, dependent and consequently feel robbed of my freedom. I cannot live without the other. Result I am jealous, I am hurt, I am angered etc. So where is Happiness and where is Love! All a myth, all an illusion.

Happiness! Where is it! What is it!

Yes, as I mentioned at the beginning, it is within us, perhaps it is the Divine in each of us. But we are unaware of its existence. 

From the moment of our conception, but more so when we are born,  we are being distracted. We are literally being trained to think, to believe that my life, my happiness depends on others, on things, persons and experiences external to me. In short, Parents, relatives, friends and the world around us transcribe their broken "Scripts" upon the new born child and recreate a broken version of themselves - selfish, self centred, fearful, angry, UNHAPPY.

To be Happy, all one needs is  AWARENESS and DETACHMENT. 

To be aware one needs SILENCE. To achieve silence one needs to MEDITATE. In Meditation one will realise how imprisoned one is. Imprisoned or Attached to Material wealth; Imprisoned or Attached to the will (or EGO); Imprisoned or Attached to Persons.

To be Happy, to be Free, all I need to do is to DROP my ATTACHMENT. Put another way, I need to practice "Letting Go". I need to Practice Detachment. I must understand there is no peace, no happiness, no love in Attachment. There is only selfishness, pain and sickness. 

(I hope this elicits reflection and questions)