Leadership Coach, Musician, Educator
Are you losing yourself trying to please others?
Stay true to who you are.
““You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there’s still going to be somebody who hates peaches.” – Dita Von Teese
Photo by Jessica Rockowitz on Unsplash
Weekend is here! Time for reflection. Time to shift your attention from so many things that drive you through the week to who you are. And what you want to do.
“It is like the letters and the paper on which they are printed.You are so engrossed in the letters that you forget about thepaper, but the Enlightened sees the paper as the substratumwhether the letters appear on it or not.” – Ramana Maharshi
Are you seeing the paper? Connecting to it? Writing your letters?
I saw a sign yesterday near an elevator that said “Mind the gap”.
We usually focus on what is before and after the gap. So much that we do not even notice the gap.
But the gap is so significant. Especially in the busy lives that we run. The gap between our thoughts. The gap between two activities. The gap between our in-breath and out-breath.
Be aware of the gap. It helps loosen the hold our busy life has over us. It helps us connect to who we are.
Mind the gap!
Photo by Bruno Figueiredo on Unsplash
Words, especially nouns, help us identify, communicate to and understand each other. But they have this tendency to trap us at the mind level. We then fail to connect to the essence of anything, in the moment. We pass by objects and people around us thinking we already know them. We go through conversations focusing on the words spoken. We are unable to get the essence of what the other person is saying. This causes a lot of misery.
Small children show us the way. They are present. Aware. They are so curious to understand something, even if they know it by name. Even if they have seen or heard about it many times.
Let’s be aware. Fully present. And use our amazing minds consciously.
Let’s be childlike!
Find yourself. The rest can be googled.
(Based on a WhatsApp forward)
Q: How should we treat others?
Ramana Maharshi: There are no others.
What changes in your life or work when you read this?
I love Sundays. When I was in a full time corporate job, the weekdays used to be like a flooded river. Not that they are any different now 🙂 But, Sunday was when the river would calm down a bit. It was when I was able to access stillness and start understanding who I am. Once it became a habit, everyday started looking like a Sunday. Now every moment seems to have a Sunday in it that I can access.
There is a saying “We cannot see our reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.”
Today is a Sunday. Your chance to see your reflection. To connect with yourself. Go ahead!
Who doesn’t love happiness?
To be happy we usually use our body, mind, emotions, senses and energy to do the following:
1) Search for happiness in a world of forms. And get the objects, relationships or activities that give us happiness.
2) Resist or avoid anything (any form) that comes in the way of happiness.
We experience happiness, but it doesn’t last. Sooner or later the form that gave us happiness reduces or disappears. And our pursuit for such forms continues.
Is it possible to break out of this cycle and experience lasting happiness?
Yes.
Experience the essence. Of who you are. The source from which your mind, emotions, senses etc. have arisen. Connect to your core. You will experience happiness every moment.
How do you find out what is your core? How do you connect to it? Stay tuned.
Photo by Hudson Hintze on Unsplash
Ramkumar R 