The simple truth of life I suddenly realised March 31, 2010

This is nothing new, you might have probably read it somewhere …but, my goodness, it makes a difference when I MYSELF realise one of those “well known” truths.

I suddenly realised that it actually does not matter at all what I do in life, what occupation/family/social life I have…totally irrelevant!

The only things that matters is that in my daily life, every minute of it, I can give love, compassion, be generous and happy, so that I can reveal the beauty of the Spirit.

LOVE
axinia

(image by me)

You are love. March 29, 2010

Is there a difference between scientific and spiritual experience? March 26, 2010

   

A material scientist today finds out something and says, ‘Here is a new discovery!’ Another says, ‘No, it is not true; here is another discovery which proves it wrong.’ And so it goes on; every year there are many new discoveries. Sometimes, too, one scientist does not think like another; they may belong to the same school, and yet each has his own idea which does not agree with the other man’s. But when we consider the mystics and thinkers who look at life from a spiritual point of view, they all agree, be they Yogis, Sufis, Buddhists, or Christians–it does not matter which.

    Whenever they arrive at a certain stage of understanding they all agree, they all have the same experiences, they all have the same realization to which they come in spite of all differences. The differences in the dogmas of the various religions are only differences of form: those who look at the surface see variations, but those who look below the surface see one and the same truth hidden beneath all religions, which have been given at different times by different masters. Naturally, therefore, the method of expression is different, but when one comes to the essence it is all one and the same, and those who are spiritually evolved come to the conclusion that they do not differ one from the other in their belief.

How to know you are doing “the right thing”? March 24, 2010

When you are working and you don’t feel you are “working”

When you are in relationship/marriage and don’t feel you are “working out something, building relationship”

When you percept anything you do as a natural flow, an enjoyment, a simple and easy thing

THEN

know that you are “in the right thing”.

Human beings are programed by evolution to believe in some super being March 19, 2010

Human beings are programed by evolution to believe in some super being, because it gives them a better chance at survival, researchers have claimed. This conclusion was arrived at by Bruce Hood, professor of developmental psychology at Bristol University after an extensive study as quoted by the Times.

An unusual experiment, conducted by Bruce Hood, Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Bristol, demonstrating that even the most rational people behave in irrational ways, became one of the star features at this year’s British Association Festival of Science. Professor Hood conducted the experiment to argue that scientists’ efforts to combat ‘irrational’ beliefs are ultimately futile.

To demonstrate his theory, Professor Hood asked members of the festival audience, if they were prepared to try on an old fashioned blue cardigan in return for a £10 reward. After receiving no shortage of volunteers, he then told the volunteers that the cardigan used to belong to Fred West, the mass murderer. On hearing this most of the volunteers put their hands down. Though a few did try it on, others moved away from them. In fact, the cardigan had not belonged to Fred West. The experiment demonstrated that the belief that it had, made even the most rational of people feel uncomfortable.Professor Hood said: “It is as if evil, a moral stance defined by culture, has become physically manifest inside the clothing.”

“Similar beliefs, which are held even among the most sceptical scientists, explain why few people would agree to swap their wedding rings for identical replicas. The difference between attaching significance to sentimental objects and believing in religion, magic or the paranormal is only one of degree. These tendencies are almost certainly a product of evolution. The human mind is adapted to reason intuitively, so that it can generate theories about how the world works even when mechanisms cannot be seen or easily deduced….Because we operate intuitively, it is pointless to get people to abandon their belief systems because they operate at such a fundamental level that no amount of rational evidence or counter-evidence is going to be taken on board to get people to abandon these ideas.”

A wall of mystery March 18, 2010

There is an ancient story in the East which tells that there was a wall of mystery.

The tradition was that whenever anyone tried to climb upon the wall to look at the other side, instead of coming back he smiled and jumped over and never came back again. So the people of that country became very curious to know what mystery lay behind that wall.

They thought they would arrange something so as to pull the person back when he looked at the other side of the wall and wished to go there. When the next person tried to climb upon the wall, curious to see what was on the other side, the people who saw him climb put seven chains on his feet and held him so that he would not go over. When he looked at the other side he too was delighted with what he saw and he smiled. Those standing at their side, curious to know what he had to say, pulled him back, but, to their great disappointment, when he came back they found that he had lost his speech.

The rule of harmony March 12, 2010

The existence of land and water, the land for the water and the water for the land, the attraction between the heavens and the earth – all demonstrate a universal harmony. The attraction of the sun and moon to each other, the cosmic order of the stars and the planets, all connected and related with each other, moving and working under a certain law; the regular rotation of the seasons; the night following the day, and the day in its turn giving place to the night; the dependence of one being on another; the distinctiveness, attraction and assimilation of the five elements – all prove the universal harmony.

The male and female, beast and bird, vegetable and rock – all classes of things and beings – are linked together and attracted to each other with a chord of harmony. If one being or thing, however apparently useless, were missing in this universe of endless variety, it would be as it were a note missing in a song. As Sa’adi says: ‘Every being is born for a certain purpose, and the light of that purpose is kindled within his soul’. All famines, plagues and disasters such as storms, floods, volcanic eruptions, wars and revolutions, however bad they appear to man, are in reality for the adjustment of this universal harmony.

What men really love about women March 9, 2010

Since years I have been interviewing men who seemed to be in happy relationships about the secret of their choice. “Why that woman? What does she give you?”… And you know there is a pretty common answer which I keep receiving from  males of various cultural and social backgrounds.

There is one word which they all mean: inspiration. “She inspires me: She awakens my desire to live, to create, to move, to achieve….”

We are the INSPIRATION….amazing, isn’t it? Just think that this is probably the core of Femininity…

Here is what a saint says about Inspiration:

Happy Women’s Day, dear ladies! March 8, 2010

In Russia we call the 8th of March the day of Spring, Beauty and Love!

Here are my flowers that I have collected over the recent years – for you, my dear girl-friends!!!

LOVE, axinia

3 common misconceptions of work March 5, 2010

ILLUSION 1:  People tend to overestimate the role of work in their lives: the identification with a profession is often so strong that the whole personality gets squashed into that limited role.

ILLUSION 2: A job is the only mean of unfolding the beauty of personality. In reality there are so many other occupations that also do it: family, friends, hobbies…

ILLUSION 3: the greatest one – a job is the way of self-realization or so-called self-fulfillement.

These are the illusions I guess we all more or less dwell in, due to the strong conditioning of the society. However the opposite is true!

Here are some points I  gained from my observations:

• generally, most of the people have many talents/abilities, they can vary from art to technique, from language to mathematics within one and the same person.
• it is difficult to find a job where we can fulfill many of our talents at the same time.
• we often have to take one opportunity after another in order to be able to live all our talents in one life. And even one life may not be enough.
• we have to realize that there may not be ONE dream job!
• we have to realize that even getting the dream job is not reaching heaven, and finally it does not make us happy. It may contribute to our well-being, but it is not the ultimate happiness (as many people seem to believe). Neither a dream job nor a dream partner are responsible for our happiness.

And what are your observations?

P.S. In order just to add to the dream job issue: I myself have in mind several dream jobs which are totally different!  Despite the fact that I am already having the so-called dream job, I would love to do at least 3 other things later in my life:

1. life coach/job coach (helping people to find their mission and place in life)
2. director of my own private school (with a unique educational concept I worked out through years)
3. florist (flower design) or interior designer
   

I hope I will manage to live all them in this life  :)… At the same time I know that in the end of the day there is something else that matters much more for me, something which gives me the true self-fulfillment. And for you?

LOVE,

axinia