I’ve got the answer on Willpower! May 21, 2012

The question about the nature and meaning of Willpower kept me busy for some time. I even posted about it already twice, but still I could not understand what is the mystery behind. The other day I talked to an old friend about some private issues and suddenly he dropped a sentence that “The willpower is there to overcome the negativity/circumstances/destiny and thus to make another step in the personal evolution”. That’s it, I thought!

For instanse people who had problematic parents and difficult childhood – now they are comfortable in the victim position and say  ”you know I have so many problems because of my childhood”. But why not overcome it? The Will Power will serve greatly if one takes to it.

Indeed, what is the fine border between a destiny and willpower? All great spiritual Masters talked about both, that a lot is already predestined and Divine Plan does exist. At the same time a human being has the Free Will, which makes us different from animals. If we use this Free Will we evolve further. Thus, at some point the Free will becomes the Will Power, the force that makes many great things happen.

Obviously today the question of Willpower is not popular. I remember in the Soviet Union we were brought up on the ideals of heroic people – not like Superman, but real heroes, existing people,  people who showed wonders of Will Power in their personal achievements or their work for others… Either in the industrialisation period, or during the Second World War or even after. I find it’s pity that today’s children miss that kind of upbringing. Today they only learn the ego-boosting.

I made my personal experiences with Willpower – not many but still some. I know what it feels like and I know how much courage it demands. And finally it’s a great mixture of thrill and discipline. A strange mixture that makes every personal journey worth tryting.

LOVE

axinia

The secret of my self-confidence May 17, 2012

I was often told that one of the most fascinating things about me is the refreshing self-confidence. Some readers consider this blog interesting mostly because of that – the way I share my experiences, the self-confident straightforwardness which does not make others feel guilty is what apparently makes my blog attractive.

Some people ask me about the secret behind this quality:  How can I be so self-confident and at the same time not going into ego , the border is very fine as we all know…It’s time to reveal the secret!

I guess there are two things that make it:

1. I know myself very well. Since I was a child I was busy with discovering who I am, what my strengths and weaknesses are, I have always been introspective and seeking. This brought me a great advantage – the AWARENESS. I am aware of what I am. I know very well what makes my personality and what is still to improve. I know well what I am bad at. Or good at. This AWARENESS is what makes me confident.

But this is not enough! There is the second part of it which is quite rare in people, at least in the West.

The Sufi take on the nature of Will-power May 10, 2012

When the mind inquires into the nature of willpower, it becomes a question whether it is a power of the mind, a power of
thought, or a power of the brain. Those who cannot see beyond the power of the brain, call it brainpower; those who cannot
see beyond the mind, call it a power of the mind. Those who cannot conceive of the existence in man of anything above the
feelings, consider willpower to be a power of feeling. A Sufi understands it to be the divine power.

It is the Divine Will that is manifested throughout the whole universe, which has created the whole universe; and it is part of the
divine will that manifests itself through us. Everything we do in life is governed and directed by that power.

But there are two ways in which the willpower works:

firstly, when it is lighted with the light of intelligence;

secondly, when it is not so lighted, but works by itself.

When it works by itself, we call it accidental. We do things accidentally which we have not
intended to do. But when willpower makes our mind and body work consciously, then the light of intelligence is followed and
the willpower is acting consciously. This is the difference between various happenings. In the one we are conscious of what we
are thinking, we are conscious of what we are speaking and of what we are doing in proportion to our willpower and to the
light that is thrown upon it from the light of our intelligence. But we have acted without willpower when we have to say, “I have
done something I should not have done; I have said something I should not have said; I have thought something which I should
not have thought.” When a person says, “What I did is terrible, I said something I should not have said,” it means that during
the time he said or did it the willpower was there, but the strength and light of intelligence had not fallen upon it to the extent to
which they should.

There are two aspects of our being: the willpower or governing power, and the vehicles, the mind and the body. Both are governed and controlled by that one governing power. In one aspect of our being we are king, in the other aspect we are
minister, and in a third aspect we are servant. We are minister when our mind works, and we are servant when the body
works. We are king when the willpower works.

Poll on Willpower: is it ego, free will or spiritual power? May 1, 2012

Willpower  comes from “Will” which does not refer to one particular or most preferred desire but rather to the general capacity to have such desiderata and act decisively to achieve them, according to whatever criteria the willing agent applies.

One of the repeating questions discussed in the Western philosophical tradition since Christianization is the question of “free will“, and the related but more general notion of fate, which asks how will can be truly free if the actions of people have natural or divine causes which determine them, but which are not really under the control of people. The question is directly connected to discussions of what Freedom is, and also the “problem of evil“, because it brings into question whether people really cause their own acts.

In idealist models of reality, the material world is either non-existent or is a secondary artifact of the “true” world of ideas. In such worlds, it can be said that everything is an act of will. Even if you are arrested by the police, this is actually an act of your will, too; if you didn’t want it to happen, you could have decided otherwise.

And what is your option about it? Does the free will exist? If yes, how strong can it be?  Do you think many people possess it? If not why? – please share your ideas as a comment.

The Poll is for those who do not like to post a comment but happy to press a button

thanks!

axinia

What’s in the silence? April 21, 2012

Silence is a genuine spiritual phenomenon experienced and described in all traditions. Here is a wonderful collection of quotes by different masters on SILENCE.

“Be quiet in your mind, quiet in your senses, and also quiet in your body. Then, when all these are quiet, don’t do anything. In that state truth will reveal itself to you. It will appear in front of you and ask,” what do you want?”

Kabir

 

“Empty yourself of everything. Let the mind rest at peace. The ten thousand things rise and fall while the Self watches their return. They grow and flourish and then return to the source. Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature.”

Lao Tzu

 

“In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness.”

Ghandi

 

“Be still, and know that I am (God).”

Psalm 46:10

My feeling of Oneness April 18, 2012

Oneness is a spiritual phenomenon suggesting that All is One, that all living creatures and materia are tightly connected and we can percept and enjoy that.

Some people get fantastically beautiful experiences of Oneness, I posted already the story by Daniil Andreev, let me quote it:

“Everything on Earth and everything that must exist in the heavens poured exultantly and noiselessly through me in a single stream. In bliss barely supportable by the human heart, I felt as if slowly revolving, graceful spheres glided through me in a universal dance, and everything I could think of or imagine merged in a jubilant oneness.

The ancient forests and clear rivers, the people sleeping by the fire, the peoples of countries near and far, cities waking up and busy streets, cathedrals with sacred icons, seas tossing tirelessly, and steppes with blowing grass— everything indeed was within me that night, and I was within everything. I lay with eyes closed, and beautiful white stars, large and blossoming, not at all like those we are used to seeing, also floated along the world-turned-river like white water lilies.

 Although the sun was not visible, it was as if it, too, were flowing somewhere just outside the range of my vision. Everything was suffused not by its glow but by a different light, one I had never seen before. Everything flowed through me and at the same time rocked me, like a child in a cradle, with all-soothing love.”

I am in awe of that overwhelming feeling! I could never experience that, at the most just the feeling of dissolving in the sorrounding.. Another stunning experience of Oneness I found in the book I reviewed recently here.

My personal experience of Oneness is much more modest, but luckily ongoing. 

If you want positive changes in your life – do not start changing yourself or your life, just meditate! April 14, 2012

Since many years I run a sahaja meditaiton class for Russian speaking people in Vienna, Austria. Based on that experience I have made an interesting observation which many other teaches like me confirm: when people start practicing meditation their life improves on every level  – physical, emotional,  job-or familywise and of course, on the spiritual.

I have no data on another spiritual practices but this is certainly the case with sahaja meditation. The explanation may be the following: the inner energy Kundalini gets awakened and it starts “working for you”, arranging not only for your physical well-being but also fantastically transforming your surroundings, arranging for great opportunities and pleasant people around. This looks like a magic but it is not!

And the best part of it is that literary you do not need to do anything yourself but meditate!

I mean you do not need to “work hard on yourself”, control your behaviour, try to become a better person, take certain steps. Sahaja yoga-  a yoga for lazy people I found out.

But one thing I have to mention: very often as soon as their life improves people give up this meditation practice(because when everything ges so fine one is even lazy to meditate)… and after some time come back again saying “oh, well, everything is gone, I was again beaten up by life”.That is how I know that this is not a mere coincidence but proved by hundreds of people whom I personally know: Immediately after they start meditating their life improves. And in the same manner it gets worse when they stop practicing.

I agree with Rumi April 11, 2012

 

I can’t stop pointing to the beauty. Every moment and place says, “Put this design in your carpet!”
~Rumi

The magic of human touch or don’t be afraid to handwork! April 9, 2012

Our advanced modern life has made us extremely lazy: by pressing  a button we can get so many things done. We invent gadgets that free us from physical work. We make our life easier and easier – but what about making it truly beautiful? I think that what gives a true beauty to life is something many people afraid of/or even hating that: a hand work, a physical effort or any kind.

Let’s see what impact physical work can make on things:

 NATURE

Cultivated gardens not only look pleasant but also emit peace. Forest taken care of by foresters look softer and more friendly that totally wild ones. Amazon river is full of dangerous fishes and animals because its banks are not crowded with people. On the contrary, the river Ganges has an amazing water quality and is not dangerous because since millenia human beings have been living and worshiping there.

OUR LOOKS

Even combing your hair can soften the expression of your face in the morning. There is an old beauty advice saying one should not look in the mirror in the morning before combing hair. Styling your hair properly will make you look as another person – if done everyday, works miracles on your good mood and positivity! A face given some basic care (oil or crème at least) daily is easy to differentiate from the one which is not treated that way. For women: Putting make up if not only a pleasant act of creativity like body painting but it adds to a face certain “value” which everyone can feel.

Do you think I shall make a book out of this blog? April 4, 2012

 

I am blogging since 5 years already and this blog has almost 800 posts so far…quite a collection! I received a suggestion by a friend to make a book out of this blog. Honestly I was never thinking about it. But why not?

1000petals  blog is so diverse, so many topics and pictures… what kind of book shall it be?

On the other hand, as far as I understand what people like most about this blog is my experiences and philosophical observations through my spiritual life. If I would make it a book concept then it shall be quote personal… – it is a good idea then?

Please comment if you really think this will make sence :)

LOVE

axinia