posted March 07, 2015 06:09 PM            

"Those who have not found their true wealth, which is the radiant joy of Being and the deep, unshakable peace that comes with it, are beggars, even if they have great material wealth. They are looking outside for scraps of pleasure or fulfillment, for validation, security, or love, while they have a treasure within that not only includes all those things but is infinitely greater than anything the world can offer.

The word enlightenment conjures up the idea of some superhuman accomplishment, and the ego likes to keep it that way, but it is simply your natural state of felt oneness with Being. It is a state of connectedness with something immeasurable and indestructible, something that, almost paradoxically, is essentially you and yet is much greater than you. It is finding your true nature beyond name and form. The inability to feel this connectedness gives rise to the illusion of separation, from yourself and from the world around you. You then perceive yourself, consciously or unconsciously, as an isolated fragment. Fear arises, and conflict within and without becomes the norm.

I love the Buddha's simple definition of enlightenment as "the end of suffering". There is nothing superhuman in that, is there? Of course, as a definition, it is incomplete. It only tells you what enlightenment is not: no suffering. But what's left when there is no more suffering? The Buddha is silent on that, and his silence implies that you'll have to find out for yourself. He uses a negative definition so that the mind cannot make it into something to believe in or into a superhuman accomplishment, a goal that is impossible for you to attain. Despite this precaution, the majority of Buddhists still believe that enlightenment is for the Buddha, not for them, at least not in this lifetime."

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posted March 07, 2015 06:22 PM            

"A man's mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.

Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping it free from weeds and growing the flowers and fruits which he requires, so may a man tend the garden of his mind, weeding out all the wrong, useless, and impure thoughts, and cultivating toward perfection the flowers and fruits of right, useful and pure thoughts. By pursuing this process, a man sooner or later discovers that he is the master gardener of his soul, the director of his life. He also reveals, within himself, the laws of thought, and understands, with ever-increasing accuracy, how the thought forces and mind elements operate in the shaping of his character, circumstances, and destiny.

Thought and character are one, and as character can only manifest and discover itself through environment and circumstance, the outer conditions of a person's life will always be found to be harmoniously related to his inner state. This does not mean that man's circumstances at any given time are an indication of his entire character, but that those circumstances are so intimately connected with some vital thought element within himself that, for the time being, they are indispensable to his development.

...

The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors; that which it loves, and also that which it fears; it reaches the height of its cherished aspirations; it falls to the level of its unchastened desires - and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own."

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posted March 07, 2015 06:31 PM            

"The words 'aware' and 'awareness' have repeatedly cropped up throughout. A mark of the spiritually advanced is their awareness of their own laziness. Through bracketing and the attention of love we grow more aware of our beloved and of the world. An essential part of discipline is the development of an awareness of our responsibility and power of choice. The capacity of awareness we assign to that portion of the mind we call conscious or consciousness. We are now at the point where we can define spiritual growth as the growth or evolution of consciousness. The development of consciousness is the development of awareness of our conscious mind of knowledge along with our unconscious mind, which already possesses that knowledge. It is the process of the conscious mind coming into synchronicity with the unconscious.

We have now come to the point where we can understand the nature of power. Spiritual power is the capacity to make decisions with the maximum awareness. It is consciousness. Most people most of the time make decisions with little awareness of what they are doing. They take action with little understanding of their own motives and without beginning to know the ramifications of their choices.

Others, sufficiently aware to know that they are lost, dare to hope that they can work themselves out of ignorance through developing even greater awareness. They are correct, it is possible. But such greater awareness does not come to them in a single blinding flash of enlightenment. It comes slowly, piece by piece, and each piece must be worked for by the patient effort of study and observation of everything, including themselves. They are humble students. The path of spiritual growth is a path of lifelong learning. If this path is followed long and earnestly enough, the pieces of knowledge begin to fall into place. Gradually, things begin to make sense; there are blind alleys, disappointments; concepts arrived at only to be discarded. But gradually it is possible for us to come to a deeper understanding of what our existence is all about. And gradually we can come to the place where we actually know what we are doing. We can come to power.

The experience of spiritual power is basically a joyful one. There is a joy that comes with mastery. Indeed, there is no greater satisfaction than that of being an expert, of really knowing what we are doing. Those who have grown the most spiritually are those who are the experts in living. And there is yet another joy, even greater. It is the joy of communion with God. For when we truly know what we are doing, we are participating in the omniscience of God. With total awareness of the nature of a situation, of our motives for acting upon it, and of the results and ramifications of our action, we have attained that level of awareness that we normally expect only of God. Our conscious self has succeeded in coming into alignment with the mind of God. We know with God.

posted March 07, 2015 06:45 PM            

"We should be on our guard not to place undue emphasis on the subject of initiation, as this might readily lead to too much self-interest. Man should work towards initiation and not for initiation. Initiation as such should therefore never be the objective of the disciple -- he should work, discipline himself, and study to equip himself mentally as best he can to become an efficient instrument in the hands of the Masters for serving humanity. With such striving and serving, the disciple will automatically gain experience, knowledge, expansion of consciousness, and finally wisdom, resulting in proportionate spiritual stature. For descriptive purposes, various sequential stages of spiritual development are referred to as 'initiations'.

...

The first initiation is called the Birth Initiation. It is the result of the birth of the Christ consciousness in the cave of the heart, and aspirants who have undergone this experience will have oriented themselves towards the spiritual life -- which does not necessarily mean the religious life. A general rightness of conduct and thinking and an attitude of goodwill will be demonstrated. The character will still have many faults (the ideal is seldom attained), but a new and more comprehensive and inclusive attitude to all beings will be shown, and the desire to serve will be strong. As a result of the control of the physical elemental, a greater creativeness will manifest itself. This is due to the shift of the energy flow from the lower chakras to the throat center. It is not by accident, therefore, that the culture of any civilization is created by the initiates.

The second initiation demonstrates emotional control, control of the astral elemental, just as the first demonstrated control of the physical elemental. This initiation is said to be the most difficult. The initiate, enmeshed in the fogs of desire, of the astral mists, has to clarify his responses to reality and free himself from emotional bondage. So powerful is the astral nature of man that this is an enormously difficult task and can take many lives to achieve. The soul, through the agency of the mind, has to control the emotional body and make it limpid and clear for its true purpose: a fitting vehicle for the buddhic or intuitional level of consciousness. The fifth principle of mind, working through the mental body, acts as the director and organizer of astral reaction, and thus as the dispeller of glamour. The Master Djwhal Khul has written:

'The second initiation is a profoundly difficult one to take. For those upon the first or second rays of aspect it is probably the most difficult of them all." However, with the advent of the Christ, acting as the dispeller of glamour on a world scale, the way forward for the large number of aspirants now approaching this experience will be facilitated, and many, having long ago taken the first initiation, will pass through the portals for a second time during this life.

posted March 13, 2015 08:07 PM            

Q: How do I deal with thoughts that keep coming back?

A: This background noise of an inner monologue will always be there. As you practice so the thoughts will become more "transparent", and you will not be so likely to be identified with them. The thoughts themselves are not the problem, just as the beating of the heart is not a problem, unless you put your attention on it. Perhaps you may have noticed that under the thoughts and supporting them lies a tension, an ill-at-ease feeling, a feeling perhaps of restless dissatisfaction. The random thoughts are an attempt to dissipate this malaise. By allowing the malaise, the "off center" feeling, to remain, the thoughts are no longer needed, and they are drained of importance. The mind becomes clearer, not because it is empty, but because the thoughts are empty of importance.

posted March 26, 2015 01:44 PM            

Don't be fooled by me.
Don't be fooled by the face I wear
for I wear a mask, a thousand masks,
masks that I'm afraid to take off,
and none of them is me.

Pretending is an art that's second nature with me,
but don't be fooled,
for God's sake don't be fooled.
I give you the impression that I'm secure,
that all is sunny and unruffled with me, within as well as without,
that confidence is my name and coolness my game,
that the water's calm and I'm in command
and that I need no one,
but don't believe me.
My surface may seem smooth but my surface is my mask,
ever-varying and ever-concealing.
Beneath lies no complacence.
Beneath lies confusion, and fear, and aloneness.
But I hide this. I don't want anybody to know it.
I panic at the thought of my weakness exposed.
That's why I frantically create a mask to hide behind,
a nonchalant sophisticated facade,
to help me pretend,
to shield me from the glance that knows.

But such a glance is precisely my salvation, my only hope,
and I know it.
That is, if it's followed by acceptance,
if it's followed by love.
It's the only thing that can liberate me from myself,
from my own self-built prison walls,
from the barriers I so painstakingly erect.
It's the only thing that will assure me
of what I can't assure myself,
that I'm really worth something.
But I don't tell you this. I don't dare to, I'm afraid to.
I'm afraid your glance will not be followed by acceptance,
will not be followed by love.
I'm afraid you'll think less of me,
that you'll laugh, and your laugh would kill me.
I'm afraid that deep-down I'm nothing
and that you will see this and reject me.

So I play my game, my desperate pretending game,
with a facade of assurance without
and a trembling child within.
So begins the glittering but empty parade of masks,
and my life becomes a front.
I idly chatter to you in the suave tones of surface talk.
I tell you everything that's really nothing,
and nothing of what's everything,
of what's crying within me.
So when I'm going through my routine
do not be fooled by what I'm saying.
Please listen carefully and try to hear what I'm not saying,
what I'd like to be able to say,
what for survival I need to say,
but what I can't say.

I don't like hiding.
I don't like playing superficial phony games.
I want to stop playing them.
I want to be genuine and spontaneous and me
but you've got to help me.
You've got to hold out your hand
even when that's the last thing I seem to want.
Only you can wipe away from my eyes
the blank stare of the breathing dead.
Only you can call me into aliveness.
Each time you're kind, and gentle, and encouraging,
each time you try to understand because you really care,
my heart begins to grow wings--
very small wings,
very feeble wings,
but wings!

With your power to touch me into feeling
you can breathe life into me.
I want you to know that.
I want you to know how important you are to me,
how you can be a creator--an honest-to-God creator--
of the person that is me
if you choose to.
You alone can break down the wall behind which I tremble,
you alone can remove my mask,
you alone can release me from my shadow-world of panic,
from my lonely prison,
if you choose to.
Please choose to.

Do not pass me by.
It will not be easy for you.
A long conviction of worthlessness builds strong walls.
The nearer you approach to me the blinder I may strike back.
It's irrational, but despite what the books say about man
often I am irrational.
I fight against the very thing I cry out for.
But I am told that love is stronger than strong walls
and in this lies my hope.
Please try to beat down those walls
with firm hands but with gentle hands
for a child is very sensitive.

posted March 26, 2015 01:51 PM            

If I had my life to live over,
I'd dare to make more mistakes next time.
I'd relax, I would limber up.
I would be sillier than I have been this trip.
I would take fewer things seriously.
I would take more chances.
I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers.
I would eat more ice cream and less beans.
I would perhaps have more actual troubles,
but I'd have fewer imaginary ones.

You see, I'm one of those people who lived sensibly and sanely,
hour after hour, day after day.
Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had to do it over again,
I'd have more of them.
In fact, I'd try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after another,
instead of living so many years ahead of each day.
I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere
without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat and a parachute.
If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter than I have.

posted March 26, 2015 02:03 PM            

Once upon a time,

There was an island where all feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Vanity, Knowledge, Richness, and Love.

Theirs was a contented existence until one day to everyone’s dismay it was discovered that the island was sinking. Everyone was told they must leave. So the feelings all prepared their boats and started leaving their beloved island.

Love was the only one that stayed, behind. Love so cared for the island home that he wanted to stay until they were sure that the island was really sinking.

When Love realized that the island was really sinking, he decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a beautiful boat. Love said, “Richness, can you take me with you?” Richness answered, ”No, I can’t. There are a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no room in here for you.”

Love decided to ask Vanity who was passing by, “Vanity, please help me!” “I can’t help you Love. You are all wet and will damage my boat,” Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked for help, “Sadness, let me go with you.” “Oh...Love, I am so sad that I can’t help anyone. I prefer to be alone!”

Happiness passed Love too. She was too happy to notice when Love called her!

Suddenly, there was a voice, “Come Love, I will take you.” It was an elderly man.

Love became very happy that he even forgot to ask the name of the elder. When they arrived to safe grounds, Love asked Knowledge who was the elderly man.

“It was time.” “Time? But why did Time help me?”

“Because only Time is capable of understanding such a great Love.”

posted March 26, 2015 02:10 PM            

The following story is based on a story by Brother Phil Lane, Jr., Ihanktowan Dakota and Chickasaw Nations, as retold by Richard Wagamese. It considers the valued traits in an Indigenous Leader of truth and justice.

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IN THE TIME BEFORE there were human beings on Earth, the Creator called a great meeting of the Animal People.

During that period of the world’s history, the Animal People lived harmoniously with one another and could speak to the Creator with one mind. They were very curious about the reason for the gathering. When they had all assembled together, the Creator spoke.

“I am sending a strange new creature to live among you,” he told the Animal People.

“He is to be called Man and he is to be your brother.

But unlike you he will have no fur on his body, will walk on two legs and will not be able to speak with you. Because of this he will need your help in order to survive and become who I am creating him to be. You will need to be more than brothers and sisters, you will need to be his teachers.

Man will not be like you. He will not come into the world like you. He will not be born knowing and understanding who and what he is. He will have to search for that. And it is in the search that he will find himself.

He will also have a tremendous gift that you do not have. He will have the ability to dream. With this ability he will be able to invent great things and because of this he will move further and further away from you and will need your help even more when this happens.

But to help him I am going to send him out into the world with one very special gift. I am going to give him the gift of the knowledge of Truth and Justice. But like his identity it must be a search, because if he finds this knowledge too easily he will take it for granted. So I am going to hide it and I need your help to find a good hiding-place. That is why I have called you here.”

A great murmur ran through the crowd of Animal People. They were excited at the prospect of welcoming a new creature into the world and they were honoured by the Creator’s request for their help. This was truly an important day.

One by one the Animal People came forward with suggestions of where the Creator should hide the gift of knowledge of Truth and Justice.

“Give it to me, my Creator,” said the Buffalo, “and I will carry it on my hump to the very centre of the plains and bury it there.”

“A good idea, my brother,” the Creator said, “but it is destined that Man should cover most of the world and he would find it there too easily and take it for granted.”

“Then give it to me,” said the Salmon, “and I will carry it in my mouth to the deepest part of the ocean and I will hide it there.”

“Another excellent idea,” said the Creator, “but it is destined that with his power to dream, Man will invent a device that will carry him there and he would find it too easily and take it for granted.”

“Then I will take it,” said the Eagle, “and carry it in my talons and fly to the very face of the Moon and hide it there.”

“No, my brother,” said the Creator, “even there he would find it too easily because Man will one day travel there as well.”

Animal after animal came forward with marvelous suggestions on where to hide this precious gift, and one by one the Creator turned down their ideas. Finally, just when discouragement was about to invade their circle, a tiny voice spoke from the back of the gathering. The Animal People were all surprised to find that the voice belonged to the Mole.

The Mole was a small creature who spent his life tunneling through the earth and because of this had lost most of the use of his eyes. Yet because he was always in touch with Mother Earth, the Mole had developed true spiritual insight.

The Animal People listened respectfully when Mole began to speak.

“I know where to hide it, my Creator,” he said. “I know where to hide the gift of the knowledge of Truth and Justice.”

“Where then, my brother?” asked the Creator. “Where should I hide this gift?”

“Put it inside them,” said the Mole. “Put it inside them because then only the wisest and purest of heart will have the courage to look there.”

posted March 28, 2015 02:02 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by SDragon:
The Indigenous Knowledge and Wisdom of Truth and Justice

The following story is based on a story by Brother Phil Lane, Jr., Ihanktowan Dakota and Chickasaw Nations, as retold by Richard Wagamese. It considers the valued traits in an Indigenous Leader of truth and justice.

---

posted April 02, 2015 10:19 AM            

"Each human being has to draw upon and assimilate the cultural heritage of his society - his culture, his religion, his people. He has to assimilate all that the past makes available. He has to assimilate the past; this is what Nietzsche calls the camel stage. The camel has the power of storing in his body enormous amounts of food and water for his arduous journey across the desert. And it is the same for the human individual - you have to pass across a desert, you have to assimilate the whole past... This Nietzsche calls the camel stage, but don't be stuck there. One has to move. The camel is the larva; the camel is a hoarder. But if you are stuck at that stage and always remain a camel, then you will not know the beauties and the benedictions of life. Then you will never know God. You will remain stuck in the past. The camel can assimilate the past but cannot use it.

In the course of his personal development the time comes when the camel has to become the lion. The lion proceeds to tear apart the huge monster known as "thou shalt not". The lion in man roars against all authority. The lion is a reaction, a rebellion against the camel. The individual now discovers his own inner light as the ultimate source of all authentic values. He becomes aware of his primary obligation to his own inner creativity; to his inmost hidden potential. A few remain stuck at the stage of the lion; they go on roaring and roaring and become exhausted in their roaring. It is good to become a lion, but one has still to take one more jump - and that jump is become the child.

Now each of you has been a child. But those who know, they say the first childhood is a false childhood. It is like first teeth: they only look like teeth but they are of no use, they have to fall out. Then the real teeth are born. The first childhood is a false childhood; the second childhood is the real childhood. That second childhood is called the stage of the child or the stage of the sage - it means the same. Unless a man becomes utterly innocent, free from past, so free that he is not even against the past ...

posted April 15, 2015 12:42 PM            

It is not a tragedy to experience adversities, yet it is a tragedy to use those adversities as an excuse for giving up on life. One ship drives east and other drives west by the same winds that blow. It’s the set of the sails and not the gales that determines the way they go. So was the story of two brothers in a small village in the Eastern Cape. The twin brothers grew up knowing nothing, but poverty. Their father was an alcoholic and their mother was a domestic worker. They grew up with very little.

On their way home one day, their parent were involved in a bus accident and died instantly. The brother’s condition became even worse. At age 17 they separated. Years and years later, a family member decided to find them and have a family reunion.

One of the brother’s was a wealthy engineer, owning a construction company. He had three beautiful kids. The other was an alcoholic with no sense of direction for his life. The family members asked the engineer, “how did your life turn out like this?” “what did you expect with a childhood like mine?” he answered, she moved unto the other brother with the same question. “what did you expect from a childhood like mine?” was his answer. This tells us that it’s not what happens to us, but how we react to it makes the difference.

In all human endeavour, we will under go circumstances: diseases, deaths, heartbreaks, financial instability etc. while those circumstances are more than a good reason to quit, none of them will make a strong enough for us to give up on ourselves, on our dreams, on what we stand for as human beings.

posted April 16, 2015 12:21 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by SDragon:
LIVING BEYOND LIMITS

It is not a tragedy to experience adversities, yet it is a tragedy to use those adversities as an excuse for giving up on life. One ship drives east and other drives west by the same winds that blow. It’s the set of the sails and not the gales that determines the way they go. So was the story of two brothers in a small village in the Eastern Cape. The twin brothers grew up knowing nothing, but poverty. Their father was an alcoholic and their mother was a domestic worker. They grew up with very little.

On their way home one day, their parent were involved in a bus accident and died instantly. The brother’s condition became even worse. At age 17 they separated. Years and years later, a family member decided to find them and have a family reunion.

One of the brother’s was a wealthy engineer, owning a construction company. He had three beautiful kids. The other was an alcoholic with no sense of direction for his life. The family members asked the engineer, “how did your life turn out like this?” “what did you expect with a childhood like mine?” he answered, she moved unto the other brother with the same question. “what did you expect from a childhood like mine?” was his answer. This tells us that it’s not what happens to us, but how we react to it makes the difference.

In all human endeavour, we will under go circumstances: diseases, deaths, heartbreaks, financial instability etc. while those circumstances are more than a good reason to quit, none of them will make a strong enough for us to give up on ourselves, on our dreams, on what we stand for as human beings.

Aristotle said: The ideal person bears the accident of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances. Therefore break the limits that life might throw at you and live beyond those limits.

---

posted April 28, 2015 06:54 AM            

Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus?... Or how well disposed would you have to become to yourself and to life to crave nothing more fervently than this ultimate eternal confirmation and seal?

posted May 04, 2015 05:29 PM            

A Monarch of long ago had twin sons. As they grew to young manhood, the king sought a fair way to designate one of them as crown prince. All who knew the young men thought them equal in intelligence, wit, personal charm, health, and physical strength. Being a keenly observant king, he thought he detected a trait in one which was not shared by the other.

Calling them to his council chamber one day, he said, "My sons, the day will come when one of you must succeed me as king. The weight of sovereignty is very heavy. To find out which of you is better able to bear them cheerfully, I am sending you together to a far corner of the kingdom.

One of my advisors there will place equal burdens on your shoulders. My crown will one day go to the one who first returns bearing his yoke like a king should."

In a spirit of friendly competition, the brothers set out together. Soon they overtook an aged woman struggling under a burden that seemed far too heavy for her frail body. One of the boys suggested that they stop to help her. The other protested: "We have a saddle of our own to worry about. Let us be on our way."

The objector hurried on while the other stayed behind to give aid to the aged woman. Along the road, from day to day, he found others who also needed help. A blind man took him miles out of his way, and a lame man slowed him to a cripple's walk.

Eventually he did reach his father's advisor, where he secured his own yoke and started home with it safely on his shoulders. When he arrived at the palace, his brother met him at the gate, and greeted him with dismay. He said, "I don't understand. I told our father the weight was too heavy to carry. However did you do it?"

posted May 04, 2015 05:31 PM            

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots was perfectly made and never leaked. The other pot had a crack in it and by the time the water bearer reached his master's house it had leaked much of it's water and was only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you." "Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?" "I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, God will use our flaws to grace his table. In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste. Don't be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and you too can be the cause of beauty. Know that in our weakness we find our strength.

posted May 05, 2015 02:11 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by SDragon:
The Cracked Pot

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots was perfectly made and never leaked. The other pot had a crack in it and by the time the water bearer reached his master's house it had leaked much of it's water and was only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you." "Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?" "I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, God will use our flaws to grace his table. In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste. Don't be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and you too can be the cause of beauty. Know that in our weakness we find our strength.

- Author Unknown

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posted May 11, 2015 04:50 PM            

For you cannot live in someone else. You cannot find yourself in someone else. You cannot be given a life by someone else. Of all the people you will know in a lifetime, you are the only one you will never leave or lose.

To the question of your life, you are the only answer. To the problems of your life, you are the only solution.

Jo Coudert

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And I saw the river
over which every soul must pass
to reach the kingdom of heaven
and the name of that river was suffering:
and I saw a boat which carries souls across the river
and the name of that boat was
love.

Saint John of the Cross

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Sometimes it's a form of love just to talk to somebody that you have nothing in common with and still be fascinated by their presence.

posted May 11, 2015 05:12 PM            

The practice of any art has certain general requirements, quite regardless of whether we deal with the art of carpentry, medicine, or the art of love. First of all, the practice of an art requires discipline. I shall never be good at anything if I do not do it in a disciplined way; anything I do not do it in a disciplined way; anything I do only if "I am in the mood" may be a nice or amusing hobby, but I shall never become a master of the art. But the problem is not only that of discipline in the practice of the particular art (say practicing every day a certain amount of hours) but it is that of discipline in one's whole life. One might think that nothing is easier to learn for modern man than discipline. Does he not spend eight hours a day in a most disciplined way at a job which is strictly routinized? The fact, however, is that modern man has exceedingly little self-discipline outside of the sphere of work. When he does not work, he wants to be lazy, to slouch or, to use a nicer word, to "relax". This very wish for laziness is largely a reaction against the routinization of life. Just because man is forced for eight hours a day to spend his energy for purposes not his own, in ways not his own, but prescribed for him by the rhythm of work, he rebels and his rebelliousness takes the form of an infantile self-indulgence. In addition, in the battle against authoritarianism he has become distrustful of all discipline, of that enforced by irrational authority, as well as of rational discipline imposed by himself. Without such discipline, however, life becomes shattered, chaotic, and lacks in concentration.

That concentration is a necessary condition for the mastery of an art is hardly necessary to prove. Anyone who ever tried to learn an art knows this. Yet, even more than self-discipline, concentration is rare in our culture. On the contrary, our culture leads to an unconcentrated and diffused mode of life, hardly paralleled anywhere else. You do many things at once; you read, listen to the radio, talk, smoke, eat, drink. You are the consumer with the open mouth, eager and ready to swallow everything - pictures, liquor, knowledge. This lack of concentration is clearly shown in our difficulty in being alone with ourselves. To sit still, without talking, smoking, reading, drinking, is impossible for most people. They become nervous and fidgety and must do something with their mouth or their hands.

A third factor is patience. Again, anyone who ever tried to master an art knows that patience is necessary if you want to achieve anything. If one is after quick results, one never learns an art. Yet, for modern man, patience is as difficult to practice as discipline and concentration. Our whole industrial system fosters exactly the opposite: quickness. Modern man thinks he loses something - time - when he does not do things quickly; yet he does not know what to do with the time he gains - except kill it.