Wednesday, July 10, 2013

The Essence of Spirituality



The essence of Spirituality and religion!

In my many years of study of comparative religion and reflection on the spiritual teachings that I believe God has revealed to all the Spiritual Teachers, I have come to the conclusion that they can be condensed to the Golden Rule. 

 I daily reflect on them  and ask my soul/spirit "what would happen if each human being that lives on earth became conscious and aware of the GOLDEN RULE and dedicated their life to their daily practice?  Of course we would have religious, political, economic, family and relationship harmony, unity and peace.   All children would have the opportunity and right to the best education available so they could develop their God-given talents and potentialities and use it in SERVICE TO HUMANITY. 

 My intention in sharing these quotations with you is to encourage you to reflect and act on them daily and contribute to building a spiritual civilization on earth.

                           The Golden Rule
Krishna: "Do not to others what ye do not wish done to yourself; and wish for others too what ye desire and long for, for yourself."

Buddha: "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.

Zoroaster:  " Do not do unto others whatever is injurious to yourself:

 Moses:  "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. That is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary."

Christ: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

 Muhammad: "No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself."

 Baha'u'llah:  "Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself."

Wish each one of us a peaceful and joyful spirit!


Connecting daily to pure and unconditional love!
Right now my heart is overflowing with gratitude and thankfulness for feeling connected to the Love of God.  What is this pure, unconditional love that constantly is flowing from God to each human being?  It is pure ecstasy and joy. I feel it in my heart and soul.  What has strengthened this connection has been taking time to live and be in nature and my daily practice 3-4 times per day to have a loving conversation, with the Loving Creator of the Universe, which is called prayer and meditating on the Word of God which to me is the way I meditate.  Also directly asking for guidance and strength and listening intently. 

  One of the things that I do to reflect is to sit quietly and just look and listen to nature at the mountain, chirping of birds, the sound of the waves at the beach, taking a walk at a park, looking at the stars at night, watching sunrise and sunset, looking at a waterfall and looking at flowers, fruit trees etc.     I truly believe that coming to Boquete has been the beginning of a new chapter in my life.  A chapter of accelerated emotional and spiritual healing, learning and growth and teaching it to others.  

 I feel grateful that I was guided to come to Boquete,  and live on this beautiful Coffee farm,  with a view of the mountain.  I know from my study of the Holy books of all religions,  which contain the Word of God as revealed through Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster, Moses, Christ, Muhammad, The Bab and Baha’u’llah,  that to experience the love of God we must have the desire to love God then we can receive God’s love.

 In the Hidden Words of BAHA’U’LLAH, which is one of the most amazing books on spirituality that I have read,   in it the spiritual teachings of all religions are contained in brief. I like to share two quotations from the Hidden Words.   “This is that which hath descended from the realm of Glory, uttered by the tongue of power and might, and revealed unto the Prophets of old.   We have taken the inner essence thereof and clothed it in the garment of brevity, as a token of grace unto the righteous, that they may stand faithful unto the Covenant of God, may fulfill in their lives His trust, and in the realm of spirit obtain the gem of Divine virtue.”   That is why I find it easy to read this book because the spiritual passages are short and brief and do not require reading pages and pages on one spiritual concept.  It is indeed  “clothed in the garment of brevity.”  

The second passage I want to share is about the responsibility of a human soul to receive the love of God.  God speaking through Baha’u’llah says, “Love Me, that I may love thee.  If thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee.”  So we each need to take responsibility for our own spiritual growth and education.  As we grow more and more daily new life dreams are revealed to us. That has been my experience.  Please share your experiences with us. Thanks!

Wishing you a joy-filled and blessed day.
Peace


Friday, July 5, 2013

Balance in Giving & Receiving


 As the purpose of this blog is to inspire and show us ways we can create our dream life, today I want to write about the subject of burn-out and over-responsibility.  What is burn-out? It is mental, emotional and physical exhaustion because we have been doing too much and giving too much of ourselves to others and not enough to our own selves.  Because it is a learned pattern, we can replace it with a healthier pattern.

 What is the healthier pattern?  It is one based on balance, harmony and moderation.

   It is wonderful to give of ourselves to others but many of us in that process forget to include ourselves.   We can learn to give energy to ourselves and surround ourselves with people who have learned the balance of giving and receiving energy, to others and to themselves.

   There are many ways to do that.  Recently I took a trip to Bocas Del Toro, Panama, in the Caribbean Sea, and did some of the things that give me joy, fun, and energy.  While I visited Red Frog Beach I saw a little red frog... and it understood English!  Do you know how I know that?  Because the moment I asked the indigenous boy who was holding the red frog in the palm of his hand if I could take it back to my home in the mountains of Panama, the frog jumped away.

  Because we all have an inner child, it is so important to MAKE TIME for her, nurture and have fun with her, and also to educate her about the importance of balance.

  It is important to know and do the things that make our inner child happy.  For example for me dancing and singing make mine very happy, so at least two to three times per day I go for a walk and sing and chant prayers and reflect on some of my favorite quotations from the writings of different spiritual teachers.  In addition I enjoy singing songs from some of my favorite musicals.

 So this balance between giving to others and to ourselves is a fine line that needs to be cultivated and practiced daily.  Today I encourage you to reflect on what you do that helps you to create this balance in your life and please share it with us so we all can learn from each other. Have a blessed and joy-filled day. Peace Farideh Azad