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The
Meaning
of LIFE
You dont ever need to feel depressed, frustrated, dissatisfied, unhappy,
confused, stressed, helpless...
You can definitely discover true and lasting
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The Problem
It seems the greatest problem in many peoples lives is a deep
sense of frustration and hopelessness. In Western society almost
everyone seems to be suffering from this in some way. Some people
experience it frequently, others only occasionally. Those who don't
seem to experience it at all are often just bottling it up, refusing to
accept their inner-most feelings. The root cause of all this depression
is that our lives seem to lack true purpose. We have a deep inner
knowing that there is more to life than what most of us are
experiencing. But the mystical, elusive Meaning of Life appears as a
far distant concept. We feel totally hopeless to find it. So we live our
lives with that vague but very real sense of discontent ever-present.
We try to cover it up with dreams of material success, but we
know deep inside that no level of attainment can bring lasting
happiness. We look at the rich and famous, the wealthy and
successful, and see that most often even they are not satisfied. But
we try to fool ourselves - "If I was them, I would be different, I would
be totally happy." Even the people who seem to be looking after
themselves, who live simply and are generally happy and enjoying
life, often still have the same inner feeling of emptiness.
Most often we surround ourselves with as many luxuries as we
can afford to distract us from our inner emptiness. But every time we
get something new, the satisfaction is only temporary and we move
our hope for happiness onto some future event. And we also know
that when we die, we won't take those luxuries with us.
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Releasing Negativity
If you have trouble releasing negative thoughts in daily life, the
next time they occur try turning your attention to your breathing. Be
aware of the breath going in and out. Listen to the sound of it. This
will usually allow the negativity to be released. If the negativity
returns, repeatedly return yourself to your breath awareness. This
will lead to inner peace at times that would otherwise disturb you
greatly. Regular practice of breath awareness will bring immediate
detachment from disharmony.
Love
Most spiritual traditions have taught the importance of Love. It
has not been discussed in this book because spiritual Love cannot be
learnt, it can only be experienced. Spiritual Love cannot be taught,
but through Right Thinking & Right Action you will automatically
release the disharmony and negativity that is stopping you from
naturally experiencing Love in every moment. Love is a natural byproduct of living in harmony.
Books
For further introduction into spirituality, try reading
"Autobiography of a Yogi" by Paramahansa Yogananda, "Out on a
Limb" by Shirley MacLaine, and "A Search in Secret India" by Dr Paul
Brunton. For more advanced readers we recommend "Hands of
Light" by Barbara Brennan, "Dancing in the Light" by Shirley
MacLaine, and "A Course in Miracles". All these books are good for
increasing your understanding of spirituality, and describe interesting
personal experiences, but they are completely unnecessary because
this book already contains all the practical
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Conclusion
Above all, develop harmony and positivity. If you wish to be
truly happy and live in accordance with your soul, your deepest aim
above all else must be self-transformation. Accept and appreciate
yourself as you are right now, don't ever judge yourself - all faults are
only temporary. But be constantly aware of ways you can improve.
Give up procrastination and idle thought and discussion. Thinking
about the Path will do you little good. Stop seeking answers and start
finding their reality in your life. Live in Right Thinking & Right Action.
You must actually walk the Path if you wish to succeed. Transform
these thoughts from words to actions. Make daily life a series of
spiritual victories.
For real benefits you should read this whole book again and
again and again. Otherwise you will have trouble actually developing
and retaining the all-important life-transforming qualities.
With
repetition, remembrance will grow. With remembrance, selfawareness will grow. With self-awareness, Right Thinking & Right
Action will grow. With Right Thinking & Right Action, harmony will
grow and life's purpose will be attained.
Meditation
We recommend that you try to fit short meditation sessions into
your daily or weekly schedule. The purpose of meditation is not to
have visions and revelatory experiences. Meditation brings a great
sense of well-being, and even beginners experience this almost
immediately. Meditation allows the mind to calm down, thereby
developing natural balance, clarity and harmony. Meditation can be
as simple as closing your eyes and becoming aware of your breath
going in and out, listening to the sound it makes. A popular way of
meditating is to use a guided meditation tape, these are very good
and are readily available.
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All those years of hard work, all the years of enduring long days
filled with anxiety and stress, so that you could eventually drive a nice
car, live in a nice house, have a nice TV, etc. Of course you could
only appreciate those luxuries in the small amount of time off from
work, and not during illness, in between moments of pain caused by
personal problems, relationships, financial difficulties, loss of loved
ones, and all the rest of life's ceaseless string of disturbing events
and traumatic experiences... Then your own time of death arrives were the few moments of luxury worth a lifetime of hardship?
-2-
The Solution
So we will now discuss one of the most important ideas that
you can ever learn. From childhood we are conditioned to believe
that we need to be constantly achieving in order to be happy, so the
need to achieve is translated into a never-ending list of future plans
and dreams. All these plans and dreams are your way of placing hope
for satisfaction in some future event. You will eventually have to
accept that this is a false hope, for external events never bring lasting
inner satisfaction.
Affirmations
Positive affirmations have a very beneficial effect on the mind, helping you
change your negative habits much more easily. Regular repetition of positive
affirmations brings definite results in a very short time. The following affirmations
will be most effective if read daily, or even twice daily if you wish. If you are serious
about Right Thinking & Right Action, this is a necessity. Read them slowly, with a
pause between each for contemplation, and be sure to expect success - you will
soon find yourself living more harmoniously with less effort. Although it certainly
isn't necessary, you may like to start off by asking for God's assistance.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
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dull and you can't enjoy luxuries and pleasures. It means that if the
pleasure is not immediately available, you remain totally satisfied.
Living without the need for plans and dreams is living simply in the
present - being satisfied with whatever you have now.
You can look forward to some future event, as long as you
realize that the event will not satisfy you any more than you already
are. For example, you could look forward to a well-deserved holiday,
a new car, etc, but remaining aware that it will not add to your inner
satisfaction.
Perhaps the planned event will never eventualize, or perhaps it
will not be as enjoyable as you had planned. And if it does eventually
occur, and is actually enjoyable, then the enjoyment is still only a
fleeting and temporary experience and then you will worry about it
ending and life becoming dull again. But there would be no loss of
happiness if you had only ever let it be viewed as an event, not a
desire for some future life-improving experience.
By living in a constant state of satisfaction, your enjoyment of
everyday simple things will grow deeper. There is no need to cut
yourself off from your favorite pleasures. But life gets easier when
you cut down on indulging in continuous activities to gratify the
senses. Simple eating, simple entertainment, simple comforts bring
the greatest inner rewards. If you feel that you are ready to benefit
from these, move towards them gradually so as not to suffer
withdrawal symptoms and end up just as entwined in the need for
sense-gratification again.
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* Give up smoking.
disharmony.
"I have heard that there is a wise man visiting our town, let us
go and visit him, perhaps he can help you understand..."
So off they went. Immediately upon hearing the problem, the wise
man said, "This man will never be able to understand light in his
present condition. But it seems that his blindness can be easily
healed through a simple operation." So the blind man underwent the
operation and was finally able to see the light.
"I was totally disbelieving in the existence of light, and now I can
see it with my own eyes!" he exclaimed.
This story can be likened to society's attitude to spirituality.
Most people in our culture are like the blind man, refusing to accept
spirituality's existence because it is not directly obvious. Yet if we
underwent the operation, that is if we made the effort to actually live
according to spiritual principles, then we would finally observe it's
constant influence in our lives.
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The Truth
The soul is here on this planet to learn. It learns through
experience. Every part of life, from the standard daily activities to the
totally unexpected dramas, are being experienced by you for your
soul to learn.
Every single experience, every situation, every
difficulty, every accomplishment, every work duty, every activity, it is
all being experienced purely for spiritual advancement. Please reread that last sentence - it is very important to understand it's farreaching consequences.
There is nothing you can do in life without affecting your
spiritual advancement. Most people are unaware that they are already
actively travelling on their spiritual journey and have been since birth.
Reading this book will help you walk along your spiritual path with the
conscious awareness that your actions are constantly working
towards your spiritual progress.
If you live in accordance with your soul's harmonious nature,
then the learning process of life will be made easier, and life becomes
meaningful. At present you are very often unconsciously conflicting
with the natural harmony of your soul, thereby separating yourself
from it and causing you to live in the confusion of purely materialistic
existence. By following the ideals outlined here you will definitely
find the complete inner satisfaction of living in accordance with your
true purpose, thereby reconnecting with the harmony of your soul.
The Body
Now we will briefly discuss the need to look after the body.
Your body, mind and soul are subtly but integrally linked. Caring for
the body leads to a more relaxed and stable mind. And a relaxed and
stable mind leads to increased harmony. There is no need to be
obsessed with the body. The most important thing is just to maintain
general fitness and above all to remain free of tension. Some helpful
information :
* Regular exercise, in any form, is absolutely essential.
* Try to keep your spine straight by not slouching.
* Try not to breathe shallowly. Breathe slowly and fill the lungs well.
This oxygenates the entire system.
* Try to smile and laugh more - it's even been scientifically proven to
be very good for you at the physical and mental levels.
* Keep your face relaxed, and try not to keep your jaw tightly shut.
This releases much tension.
* Stretch your arms, legs, and especially your neck regularly to
release tension. Relax tense muscles throughout the body as soon as
you become aware of them.
* Try to soak up a bit of sunshine every day. 15 minutes is enough.
Make sure it's direct sunlight, not through glass, which blocks out
some life-sustaining frequencies.
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-8-
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Forget
tomorrow's
dreams.
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Harmony
* Remember that whilst it is your desires that have always brought you
happiness in the past, this pleasure only existed in the few short moments
in between the much longer periods of anxiety, frustration & suffering. You
can't choose to preserve all your materialistic desires and drop your
suffering - that is asking the impossible - it is not going to happen.
* Let the joy in your life arise from simple living and simple pleasures, not
from the continual seeking of fleeting experiences.
* All your attachments, all your worries, all your desires only relate to the
temporary body you are inhabiting - the deeper you realize this, the sooner
you will be free.
* When faced with a challenge, there is no need to act like a victim there is
never an appropriate time to choose weakness.
* Try not to be attached to life's circumstances, let the Universal Mind unroll
the experiences of life as it always knows what is best. Remember that all is
perfect.
* You are not a human trying to attain spirituality. You are a soul residing in
the temporary tool of a human body, in the process of returning to your
natural state of eternal peace and harmony.
* Realize that you are not really your body, you are not really your thoughts,
you are not really your feelings - these are all temporary. Try to recognize
that in essence you are a beautiful Divine Soul.
* You can overcome any difficulty - let nothing stand in your way.
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* Some people give up their efforts at Right Thinking & Right Action,
because they decide it's too hard to keep it up for prolonged periods.
But you have to accept the fact that you will need to start sometime,
and if you give up now, you'll most probably have a harder job in the
future. So START NOW. And don't give up, no matter how many
hurdles you have to leap.
* You must try to overcome all selfishness. Selfishness is a giant
setback in the progress to Unity.
* It is our God-given privilege of Free-Will through which we become
bound in limitations by continually choosing disharmony. And it is
your Free-Will to continually choose harmony that can and will lead
you to Ultimate Liberation.
*
Don't let yourself
inconveniences.
be
disturbed
and
irritated
by
mere
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Problems
Every problem we encounter in life is created by God as part of a
learning experience. This is true for absolutely every type of problem
- illness, accidents, relationship problems, work problems, any life
situation that creates emotional or mental disturbance. Not many
people notice that their individual problems are merely the obvious
signposts of a larger learning experience. Sometimes we manage to
relieve or suppress the obvious symptoms through willpower,
medicine, or just by ignoring them, depending on the nature of the
problem.
But the learning experience that created the problem will
not have dissolved. It will instead be manifesting different or less
obvious symptoms.
God's intention is not just to upset you! It is God's intention for
you to become aware of the negative attitude or quality that has been
persistently stopping you from experiencing your natural harmony.
You are in effect separating yourself from your soul. God is hoping
that your
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difficulty will point you in the right direction towards ceasing the
negativity.
* Starve negativity by not dwelling on any thoughts that support it desires, anger, resentment, etc.
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always returns in order for you to release and uncreate it. This is
necessary before you can rediscover the harmony of your soul and
merge back into the Source.
* You can compare your current lifetime to be like a single chapter in a
giant book. When we are reborn, we start a new chapter, forgetting all
the memories of the last chapter, our previous life. This is to protect
us from dwelling on past pain and suffering, as well as multitudes of
irrelevant memories. But we do carry with us the qualities and
lessons we have learnt.
* Don't fear death - it is inevitable, unavoidable, every moment takes
you one step closer. Trust in the life of your eternal soul. The body
may die, but the occupier of the body will move on. The soul changes
it's physical body just as a person changes clothes when they
become worn out. There is no need to concern yourself with past and
future lives, just be concerned with living your best in the time you
have in this lifetime.
* Success and failure are both experienced continually in every aspect
of our lives. If you could try to accept both success and failure as
they arise, without attachment to either, life would become much
simpler. Your contentment can remain uninterrupted if you choose.
* Trust that God makes sure that people only receive what is
necessary for their progress, and never dishes out lessons that are
unnecessary or too difficult.
* It is not always easy to perceive signs of spiritual progress - have
patience and faith, and your clarity will come.
Ultimately you must learn to take responsibility for your life and
all of it's circumstances and situations. You may think this is an
unfair attitude. For example, some people have been born into certain
conditions such as poverty and hardship, or wealth and ease, or even
physical disabilities. And these extreme conditions may arise at any
time during life without any responsibility on the part of the individual.
Do Not doubt that this has all been chosen by the soul even before
birth - the conditions are exactly what is required for that individual's
specifically needed lessons. Every single thing that you experience is
of your own doing. Negative experiences can only be released
through becoming aware of your lessons, and developing harmonious
attitudes and qualities. Taking responsibility for your entire life is one
of the biggest steps forward you can make on your spiritual path.
Sufferers of chronic illnesses may have a hard time accepting
that they are responsible for their unending suffering. Let us look at
an example. Modern medical science has concluded beyond doubt
that prolonged depression and anxiety is most definitely the
underlying cause of cancer. It is very easy to understand - the
depressed person thinks "Life is terrible, what is the point of living,"
etc. And so the body acts as a physical reflection - a body that does
not support the living process. By the time the person is diagnosed,
even a renewed will-to-live is not enough to counter the strongly
ingrained negativity of many years. Yet there are many recorded
cases of complete healing without medical treatment in those rare
people who have managed to completely release their negativity and
change their entire life attitudes and beliefs to accept faith, hope, and
happiness.
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* Adopt Right Thinking & Right Action by truly changing from your
current perspective, completely influenced by society's negative
preprogrammed beliefs, to a new perspective based on an unbiased
and honest viewpoint. Be aware of the way your surroundings
influence you into negative thought, and take steps to change it.
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* Remember that daily life is not a chore but an important part of your
individual spiritual journey.
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* Don't criticize anyone ever, even if they are not present - it only
results in you surrounding yourself with your own negativity. You can
give constructive help instead, but only if it will truly benefit them, and
without any judgement.
* Anger, frustration, all forms of negativity are destructive to your
well-being. These harmful qualities should not be suppressed, but
instead transformed into harmonious qualities. Convert negative
thoughts into their positive opposite.
* Your soul is the one who, with God's help, plans out the
circumstances of this life, for your greatest spiritual benefit in
accordance with your individual needs. Always try to respond to
every situation positively.
* Try to spend more time in silence - it helps calm your overworked
mind. Avoid bombarding the mind with constant trivial entertainment
and conversation.
* Try to spend less time in the company of television shows and
music that are based on negativity and violence. It has a big effect on
your mental state. Why not instead go for a walk, a jog, do something
creative, or take up some classes.
* Similarly, try to cease exposing your vulnerable mind to the
unending and irrelevant violence and scandal of daily news on
television and in the newspaper. The constant flow of negativity is a
prime factor in desensitizing your sense of natural harmony.
* Just as you are in reality a soul at one with God, it is important to
remember that so too is everyone else. That is why all religions have
taught the importance of always treating those around you as equals
and friends. But it is
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* Don't strive for constant success let life flow smoothly at it's own pace.
* Try to listen to your gut feelings more - they are the voice of your
intuition, and are more in tune with your soul than the overly-rational
mind.
* Improve the quality of your life by improving the quality of your
thoughts. It is simple if you actually try.
* Avoid mental stress at all costs - there is never a valid reason to
push yourself that hard. Life was meant to be easy, and it always can
be if you let it.
* Recognize that nature and life are based on impermanence - nothing
ever stays the same. Therefore don't place your happiness on
anything that is temporary.
* Become aware of yourself as an actor in God's Play, you are only a
witness to life's daily events. You cannot be upset by what you are
not attached to. Release your attachment to everything but your inner
state of positivity.
* Live simply. Live in inner freedom.
* Have a supremely optimistic attitude - See only positivity and
perfection. This is exactly what your soul always sees. How
enjoyable your life could be, if only you try to perceive it's Truth - your
life is purely a story-tale, unfolding new surprises and opportunities
every day for you to learn and expand.
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