Have you got a mentor? November 20, 2013

image by axinia

Since I was a child I had an enormous drive to self-development. And although many wonderful people surrounded me, no one could serve me as a role model and teach me things I was looking for. I was all on my own, trying to understand myself and the world, reading serious literature at 10, being busy with geo-political questions at 12 and writing a thesis in philosophy at 15. After having swallowed a huge amount of books I realised that my steps in self-development are still too slow and I lack some practical approach. Too much theory makes no sense. Then I tool to psychology and was soon disappointed at the negative nature of this kind of science. All trainings I went through looked interesting but had the yo-yo effect: all changed they have brought, vanished after some time. Something solid and substantial was badly missing in my life.

Thus at 20 I was desperately asking God to save me a Teacher. I realised I needed SOMEONE who could show me the right way and give not only some beautiful theory but also a real practical application of it. Shortly after feeling this I came to Sahaja Yoga which fulfilled all my spiritual self-development desires. I was more that happy to get he guidance of the most amazing Gurus of all times, Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi who was so generous in not only revealing endless secret knowledge about human nature, and actually gave fantastic instruments to an easy and quick self-development, which was my primary and the only wish.

However due to my highly idealistic and spiritual nature I soon realised how “immature” and naïve I was regarding the daily matters. At 22 I found myself all alone in a foreign country – divorced, brocken, without any means to existence. Many good people wanted to support me, and luckily did that. However I needed to stand up on my own….but… I obviously could not do it alone, because my views on life were too naive…And here comes another wonderful gift of destiny into play!

A met a person who became my best mentor ever in all “material” questions. When I first saw this person I thought: “Well probably he would help with a job?” – and how right this supposition was! We became friends, and out of the nature of this person, he on his own wish become my mentor. In the beginning of our friendship he used to invite me for a dinner and ask about my life views. Then he tried to show me the different perspective. He had a solid banking background and two MBA’s in Wealth Management – imagine, just the opposite of the direction which I would choose. In fact, he was really educating me – free of charge, but with a back thought: at some point he opened his own company and invited me to join. Then he kept training me as his assistant. He tought me how to ask right questions, how to see in the  “material” root of every issue, how to “check” people, how to keep the philosophical attitude to work and money. I recently realised that all I know about the material side of live I due to my dear mentor! I would never be able to learn it myself, at least not in one life. He made it very easy and applicable to me. No need to say I am still working for this person and more than happy about it :).

I don’t know about other’s experiences on that but my life shows that one needs a good mentor to come forward. I feel so lucky that both – my spiritual and material seeking have been fulfilled and this gave me a chance to become a mentor for others too. This is the way it works.

LOVE

axinia

What about trust? June 16, 2013

image by axinia

Most of us would call trust is one of the basic human values. What’s the point of writing about it when it is anyway clear to everyone. My point here is to share my observations on how people relate to trust and what could be done about it if it is missing.

We all want others to trust us. But do we trust much? In my profession I have to get an idea of a person within one hour and to reach that I had to dig deep, taking straight to the values and desires. By doing so I can sense the level of trust in a person which is -alas! – often not that high. We are afraid of each other, afraid to open up and to trust. Afraid to get hurt and disappointed. I guess each of us had at least one case in life when our trust was misused. And this makes us cautious.

No need! Relax about it, my friends. Here is what my long-term observations on the trust matte show:

1.People who trust others, are more successful in life: they are more loved, more relaxed and successful in establishing long-term relationships which lead to better career chances and of course deeper and more stable friendships and families.

2.People who trust others are happier in life in general because they have less tension and fears of being misused.

One should not be too blue-eyed of course and if there are clear signs of someone’s criminal behavior one should be alert. However are many cases when even in criminal situation when approached with trust and friendliness, the negative situation could be neutralized. I once had a miraculous situation and know how amazing it could be.

Why we are looking for paradise March 19, 2013

 It is very interesting to study the lives of the great in the world. We find that some great people have almost arrived at the fulfillment of their undertakings and just before they had reached the goal they have lost it; and there have been some great people who have attained the ultimate success in whatever they have undertaken. You will always find that the souls of the former kind are the ones who were gifted with great power and yet lacked faith, while the others were gifted with the same power, and that power was supported by faith.

A person may have all the power there is, all the wisdom and inspiration, but if there is one thing lacking, which is faith, he may attain to ninety-nine degrees of success and yet may miss that very one whose loss in the end takes away all that was gained previously. There is a saying in English, ‘all’s well that ends well’, as the Eastern people say in their prayers, ‘make our end good’; for if there be a difficulty just now we do not mind, because there will be success, the real success, in its completion.
It is in this outlook that we can find the secret of the idea of Paradise, the paradise which has been spoken of by the elevated souls of all times, and in all scriptures you will find a reference to paradise is a hope in the hereafter, a hope in the future.

 When someone finds that there is no justice to be found in life, or beauty is lacking, or wisdom is not to be found anywhere, and goodness is rare, then he begins to think that justice must exist somewhere; all beauty, wisdom, goodness must be found somewhere, and that is in paradise. He thinks, ‘It exists somewhere. I shall find it one day; if not in this life, I shall find it in the hereafter; but there is a day when the fulfillment of my hope, my desire, will come.‘ This person lives; and this person lives to see his desire fulfilled. For in reality the lack that one finds in a person, in a thing, in an affair, in a condition, will not always remain. For all will be perfect, all must be perfect; it is a matter of time. And it is towards that perfection that we are all striving, and the whole universe is working towards the same goal. It is in that perfection that the thinkers and the great ones of all times have seen their paradise, because through man it is God who desires. Therefore it is not the desire of man; it is the desire of God, and has its fulfillment.

by Hazrat Ihayat Khan, “the Sufi Message”

The queen archetype November 26, 2012

The queen archetype is one of the most popular in collective consious of mankind regardless the culture and epoche. It is not by chance that little girls all over the world dream of being princesses – it is not a  silly childish wish but a deep longing for some special powerful qualities. And have you ever thought about the sagnificance and meaning of a crown on top of the king/queen’s head?

As we know, the C.G.Jung’s concept of the archetype is derived from the repeated observation that, for instance, the myths and fairy-tales of world literature contain definite motifs which crop up everywhere. We meet these same motifs in the fantasies, dreams, deliria, and delusions of individuals living today.

The four female archetypes of the Faerie, the Wise One, the Lover, and the Queen are found in most cultures and provide insights into female patterns of leadership. As is the case with her male counterpart, the King, the Queen is the most complex and mature of the female archetypes. This is because the image of a Queen who serves as a center for the mature ordering of things includes and transcends the other archetypes of the Feminine. Indeed the most powerful embodiment of this archetype is the Great Goddess—The Great Mother. This cosmic image is the equal to that of an all powerful God, the source of complete cosmic power, but at the same time is more accessible, less menacing. Images that may point to such a Great Mother, a supernatural Queen, are among some of the earliest human depictions of a higher power.

I like the way Shri Mataji addresses that archetype in her lectures, here is what I picked up from her talks on queen qualities /Raja Lakshmi principal. You can check how far this queen archetype is present in you (I guess it works both for females and males).

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 and whom you cannot forgive April 1, 2012

Forgiveness has become a popular topic. Sooner or later you come across this word on the way of personal development.  Many psychologists, healers, spiritual leaders and practitioners will tell you: If your head is full and you are suffering from unclear emotional heaviness you just have to forgive. 

In the classical sense one can/should forgive if one was badly injured (physically or emotionally, often in cases like betrayal). Luckily not everyone has experienced such heavy pains. But the head is still full and life has no joy…what’s the reason then?

I fount out that Forgiveness has a much wider relevance.

 Basically you need to forgive

• when you keep coming back to a certain situation, keep analyzing or criticising others or your own behaviour

• when you keep arguing in your head with a person you had a serious talk even when days, weeks or months already passed

• when you regret you did not find the right word in a situation and you think !oh, i should have said that…next time I will say so and so”

In fact what happens is that your head gets stuck like a computer when it hangs. It just cannot continue working properly!  – Just think of it every time you catch yourself on perpetual one-thought thinking.

How to attain peace, wealth and power? March 19, 2012

Man wants peace, wealth, power, etc., but God is the origin of all these. 

Then why should there not be the desire for God?

Shri Mataji 

 

Another realization from my motherhood experience March 4, 2012

My sweet daughter is almost one year old now. So far I have been fully enjoying the motherhood experience and learning a lot from that.

I have realized certain things and have posted about some here, here and here. Today, rounding up this year, happy to share one more insight.

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Watching my daughter grow, I can see clearly that despite her taking physically after her father and temperament-wise after her mother, she possesses her own already developed personality. I wonder how people who have children can really belive they come totally “new” into this world?! Nothing doing, more than ever I am convinced now that one soul is getting born again and again, reincarnation is not a mere theory.

One amazing thing about my baby is her conscious vegetarianism.

I should admit I am a convinced non-vegetarian myself. I tried to reject meat many years back but this did much harm to my health so I realized that at least for myself this would not work. And I never regret that, enjoying some chicken or even beef now and then. When I got pregnant, after the second month (normally when the soul is believed to enter the embryo’s body) I suddenly stopped eating meat and fish. I could not swallow a piece!  Well I thought, this is definitely not me 🙂 Thus the embryo grew as a pure vegetarian, being perfectly fit. When the time came for the baby to start taking other food additionally to milk, I was advised to try giving all kinds of food, also chicken and fish. And – imagine! – she rejects completely! Quite a conscious choice, I would say, because otherwise she is a good eater.

Now tell me what is the reason behind this? I cannot see any other except that this soul has come not only with a certain character, but with a set of habits and ideas as well, and probably a even a certain mission.

I am  sure my experience and realization about it is not unique. Please share yours!

thanks 🙂

LOVE, axinia

I believe that desires…do not exist! December 23, 2011

There is a huge modern trend in the West, a trend to desire. Various psychological and pseudo-spiritual practices tell you that you only have to desire (put a picture of your desirable object on your wall, dream about it, etc) and with the time your thoughts will “attract” the thing you desire. And- yes! -for many people who try this method out it comes true.

Little do they think that this “works” probably due to some totally different rule…

Typical for the western ego-oriented mind we tend to think that the world runs around us. A very self-centred thinking. When step aside of that idea and take a look at he bigger picture, we can see a different image.

We can see that we all act in a huge cosmic play, according to a certain plan. There is scenario for everyone, every role is predestined. The only question is how good we are able to play our roles.

Since my early youth I have been trying to understand how this whole thing works. I have been watching and analyzing the events in my and other’s lives. And the conclusion I came to is the following.