A tale of immortality

At times of fear – Halloween, world in crisis, the danger of the broccoli – we try different tactics to overcome it.

Halloween stimulates humor as a way of dealing with crisis.

A world in crisis… only generates anxiety and worry, but there are plenty of ways to deal with it, like meditation.

About the broccoli, no solution…

But you probably know that the source of all fears is considered the fear of death, so what about if we were immortal? A few thoughts on this:

If I am immortal, it means death is not a thing and everything that happens to me is for a reason. My focus is on the learning instead of the tragedy.

If I am immortal, it means the huge crisis the world goes through is not permanent; I rather think of things that are permanent, like my own spirituality and my relationships.

If I am immortal, everything around me is a wonder of nature and as such, all is perfect. Maybe I will be hurt or hurt others, perhaps I will damage something, but as all in nature, everything will be OK.

If I am immortal, I am free of any fear and I can live life in its fullness.

Victory over THOSE THINGS you cannot defeat

There are things you cannot defeat…

There are those projects at work you will never be able to finalize.

There are people you won’t forgive. Never!

There are memories that cannot fade away and they will keep haunting you forever.

However…

By just trying to finalize a project at work, you will be developing new skills, a new attitude and a new perspective on your profession. Maybe the project is not as important as those things you are acquiring.

Many years ago, a yoga teacher was sharing about a person she could not forgive. It was a surprise for me and for the people who were with her, and yet it was like taking a course of “how to forgive the unforgivable”. Maybe you cannot forgive someone, but I know you are a good person and I am sure you are not wishing bad things to those people. So, instead of trying to forgive or think of forgiving, just visualize that person happy and peaceful… I am sure that pure energy will reach them.

And instead of being haunted by old memories, why don’t you create new ones? Go for a walk at a beautiful place, invite someone to have lunch with you or simply read a book that inspires you; new beautiful and powerful memories will serve as candles that will illuminate the castle of memories and will prevent the ghost of bad memories to ever come back.

There are things you cannot defeat, but you cannot be defeated either.

In fact, victory can be as simple as reframing what you want to get, wishing the best to others and lighting a lamp in your mind.

HAPPY DIWALI!

Living among lambs

There are people who are like lambs: calm, quiet, tender and without much initiative…

If you are one of those lambs, sorry, but a bit of initiative does a lot for a person’s personal growth and the service of others.

To take initiative or proactivity is an essential quality to live in a very chaotic world in which leadership is missing, a lot! If you don’t have it well developed you will be either waiting for some miracle to happen, trying to avoid situations or complaining about them.

My question would be: how to keep all qualities, but add proactivity? After all, it is wonderful to be a person who cares about others, who don’t get upset and who is always smiling.

If you feel you are a lamb, these are a few things you could be to improve your proactivity:

• Take some time to understand your specialties, those things in which you are EXCELLENT. You always have at least one, it is time to value it more.
• Refocus your life in such a way you can use more and more your specialties.
• When you are facing a situation and you are not confident, remember the best of yourself: your qualities or inner powers. This exercise will help you to experience self-esteem.
• When you are not an expert and you cannot take initiative, help in some other way; remember the experts often are under lots of pressure and there are many things you can do to help them.
• If you are REALLY feeling scared, remember moments in your life when you experienced fearlessness or courage; by doing it, you will invoke those qualities and the fear will diminish.
• It is SO IMPORTANT to not deny your own fears; embrace them and work within to manage those unease feelings.
• Train yourself. The more you are qualified, the more you will feel capable and so it will be very easy to take initiative.

Undergoing the surgery of the self

Just think of yourself as something more than your body… Can you see which sicknesses affect the soul, for using a word?

Many years ago, I listened to someone who referred the crisis on values as one of those illnesses and it is clear the pandemic of loneliness also comes from within, as a virus that is affecting the self.

The present war, the greed that is eating the world, the lack of trust on institutions and many other things are visible symptoms that indicate something is not right – and if they are not right in the macro level, we should think things are not right in the micro level.

Comparing with a body, we think of it as sick when organs are not working as they should and, by understanding the symptoms, we can find out the sickness and look for a cure.

My question is: what to do in relation to a sick soul?

That means ME, YOU, that micro level that sums and interacts with others generating a definite impact on the macro.

Because of too many factors, it is not possible to correct the macro level, even though we have been trying for ages. But to reach the micro level is EXTREMELY possible as it is under our power and control. And if we change the self, the world will be changed too at some point.

So, a point for reflection: what is the surgery we should undergo, in terms of the soul? By fixing the illnesses of the self, the world will heal.

 

Living among wolves

Imagine you are living among wolves… Scary, right? It depends.

First possibility is that you are a wolve yourself: you follow the rules, you hunt for living and you work in close cooperation with others. The problem is when you meet another pack and a battle takes place.

The second possibility is that you are a lamb and, sorry, but you are already dead! Maybe they keep you for a while, but one of these days, your life will end and you will be feeding these hungry wolves.

The last option I am seeing in my mind is that you are a human…

In the first possibility, you may not even realize you are that wolf. Violence, anger and constant threats is part of your life and cooperation is a tribal word for you and it does not work for those who are outsiders. Growth will be limited and your life will be restricted by what the society, tradition or culture tells you to be.

Of course, that is much better than being a lamb – it is that person who does not want to comply with the rules, with how society works, but they don’t have enough power to face it either. Eventually, life will be over – either you will resuscitate as a wolf or you will be just a skin of a person, barely living.

But what about being a human?

You can fight against them, but if you are LIVING WITH THEM, how can you fight for decades?

Maybe you can avoid them… You could build a fence and so, they are not allowed to come too close to you. But, without realizing, you are the one imprisoned, not the wolves; this is after all THEIR world.

You may try to imitate them, but, well, they figure out one day and you will be in danger.

You can try to domesticate them. However, it is not so easy, you will spend lots of energy and you will end with fake dogs instead of powerful wolves.

Best solution: you must learn how to live with them. They are beings that are so different than you and yet, they have many similar traces: negative (violence, difficulties to adjust to another person or group) and positive (cooperation, norms).

If you are aware you are surrounded by wolves, don’t be afraid; instead, start watching them and communicate in a very assertive way. Look for the beautiful things (cooperation for instance) and work from that perspective. Don’t deny who you are, but focus on find long-terms solution for your coexistence.

And one day, you may smile watching the beautiful people with whom you have the honor to live.