A trip to the infinite and beyond

 

Let’s travel far, far away…

 

Meditation is a first means to go beyond the world we live. It is not that we really go beyond, but our mind and thoughts take us much beyond our environment and the physical, mental and emotional experiences. This opens the door for the self to have a different understanding of life, so unique…

When we reflect by journaling or just sitting down, looking at the horizon, we allow our mind and thoughts to see the world from behind an invisible mirror. From our perspective, we look at reality, we understand it and we can even make decisions about it, but all the time from behind that mirror…

For this trip, we need to comprehend and live the difference between inner and outer experiences. Maybe they are correlated or not, interdependent or not, totally different or incredibly similar, they are not the same. Travelling to the infinite and beyond means, in this sense, to submerge in the inner experiences and to let your mind to take you to a different universe.

 

Come on, let’s travel!

Thoughts are powerful, very powerful

Let’s talk about the power of thoughts.

We could go scientifically and there are lots of research supporting that. Or we may go to the mystical side of thoughts; not much in terms of research, but people love it.

However, I would like to share with you three experiences related to the power of thought, so you can… think… about them.

The first experience is the fact that I was brought up thinking I was poor. Yes, that was said at least once a week in my family and by other people too. And yet, we had our own house and there were other things that contradicted that affirmation.

Thoughts create prosperity and abundance in a very real way. When I came to my spiritual path, and even before that, I started to see reality in a different way. It was as if an exit door for my situation just opened. It took time for me to believe it, to go through it and at last, to be free from that limiting belief, and it all started with my thoughts…

 

My second experience is related to sickness. I am clear about the need of using medicine, and I use it, but I value the energy of the self.

I was in India just now, walking around, when a friend of mine insisted that I meditated and sent some of the energy to my foot (long story...). I did that, and the sensation was amazing. Maybe thoughts can’t cure all the time, but they can give a relief.

 

The last experience is about a relationship. He was an acquaintance and one day I met him, when I found out he was very upset with me. It was a strange feeling, since we were from different countries, we didn’t talk much and, well, our relationship was almost zero.

Initially I felt quite annoyed with that, but I started to change my thoughts in relation to him. I started to send good wishes and good vibrations to him. It was a process of years, but at last, when we met many years later, he was OK with me…

 

Thoughts work very well; it is time we use this resource more.

The fine balance for your success…

There is a special secret for those who believe we all have an inner compass: the East and the West.

Success – real success – comes when there is a balance of excellence in all areas of life: personal, working, health, spirituality, etc. This is why real success is often out of reach…

A few examples: you probably know people, whose health is amazing, but their relationship with others is horrible, and there are those whose career is ascending constantly, despite the fact they feel down in a personal level.

With this special secret, any person can reach for that balance: at every activity, use the light of your spirituality (the East) and the road of your life experiences (the West).

Before doing anything, particularly if it is impacting or relevant, practice spirituality by meditating or a praying. Also, check if the present capacity matches the need of those actions; if it doesn’t, maybe training is in order.

During activities, keep the spiritual light on; something written can serve as a reminder and from time to time, read it. Jump into the action, by being effective and highly productive.

After those actions, sit down and practice spirituality again. Gratitude may be expressed or just a reflection on what took place. Learning the lessons and planning changes will help improving performance next time.

Just remember

Before reading this, check on the post Never forget… or forever forget?

 

There are two ways to remember something. The first is associated with the sensory organs, when we remember images, sounds, fragrances and other aspects captured by the body. The issue with this type of memory is that the body is constantly changing and probably the memories too; maybe something that tasted so good to you when you ate it, today when you remember it, the taste appears in your memory in a different way. It happens a lot with vegetarians like me, who still remember the churrasco, but its taste no longer attracts...

The other way to remember is to re-live what corresponds to this memory. Maybe I don't like the taste of meat anymore, I don't even remember it, but I will certainly like to remember being with other people, seeing new places and the tour related to the experience of food. This is why in many places of commerce, the emphasis is on delivering an experience to others, rather than the product.

With this in mind, the scenes in your life were a product of various factors, but beyond them is your experience. What will you really remember?

This is the magic of memory: being able to choose what will remain in your experience. This can transform the trauma into a trampoline, so that you grow much more quickly. Then, how to choose?

• After a difficult experience, set aside time for a powerful reflection. You'll know you've reached a point of self-realization when you stop blaming others, making excuses, or regretting what you did.
• Based on reflection, practice contemplation, meditation, or yoga; it will help you calm down, soothe you, and even empower you.
• If it was really hard, the constructive emotions derived from forgiveness may be necessary. So FORGIVE: others, situations, other things and particularly YOURSELF.

* You may need a professional to help you process what you experienced, in the case of trauma.

Humor, the essence of your own life

No jokes on chickens or bars; humor is taking the world.

Beforehand, only a few people could make use of it. Nowadays, anyone tries to use humor as a weapon against being bored or to avoid conflicts. I am not talking here about irony or sarcasm, humor's "evil twins". I am talking of a pure and sensitive humor sense that enables someone to change the view in relation to any situation, no matter how dark it is, and, of course, turn the environment a little more cheerful...

And that is fundamental when you work, in your family environment or at the time to talk to your neighbor about his unhealthy habit of playing loud songs at 11.30 pm... Because humor presents the situations in a new different light and resistance is decreased by that quality, allowing changes to happen. Real sensitive humor; other types of humor probably will help you to get a smack on your head or you will have to watch over your shoulder for the rest of your life expecting revenge...

Personally, I was never a funny guy, but I noticed something... It was in Chile, in '92, when I was leaving the last company I worked there, coming back to my birthplace, São Paulo. I used to work for Borland, at that time one of the giants in software for microcomputers; I started to make jokes to lighten the atmosphere of my farewell party when a co-worker mentioned that I used humor to deflect sadness... And I must say she was totally right, after all what do you think it is better, to laugh or to cry?

With humor I can accept a bitter order by my boss or avoid retorting to some comment my dad made. I can fall and laugh at that and I can make jokes on my own failure... Real humor gives comfort and strength, but it only works when it comes from you, from your own dharma as a person.

But, how to develop that? First of all, if you don't have sense of humor, believe me when I tell you can develop it... Second, try to detach from your own self. German, a great Chilean comedian, says that his trick is to make jokes on himself, not on others' expenses; this makes his videos very funny as they came from his own experience. So, if you can detach yourself, you can use your wonderful life as a source of humor, and I tell you, what a source!!!

A last tip: smile a lot. Laughter can last for some time; while smiles can last forever, generate a light environment and make people opener to your comments... they can even laugh at that!



P.S. Well, it is kind of lacking some humor in here...
Do you know why I don't like performing, not even dancing in front of others? Well, when I was a child I decided to perform in front of my whole class (and the whole school, in fact). I was the frog who turned into the prince, you know the story... I still remember the moment I raised and declared myself as the prince, something happened there and people laughed at me forever, destroying a very promising future actor!!