Living in the Present Moment - How Good Can You Stand It? (spiritual quotes)

August 6th, 2009 admin Posted in spiritual |

By Roberto Garabell

Living in the present moment is the key to leading an exciting, fulfilling, meaningful life. However the experience of right now is far too intense for many people, so they develop the self-defeating defense response of constantly living in the shadow of past and future fantasies.

The unpleasant truth is we all have the tendency to hide our face from the now. It’s easier for us to dwell on past regrets and future anxieties; these experiences are safe, familiar, and unchallenging.

A popular and revealing question often asked by personal development instructors and spiritual guides is: “How good can you stand it?”

This might sound silly at first, but it’s a critical issue to be addressed along your journey of personal discovery and expansion. Can you simply relax and allow your awareness to accept what is?

Can you sit quietly and embrace the present moment, letting your body relax and your mind enjoy the peace and stillness? Or do you squirm after a few seconds and try to escape the now by fretting over possible future calamity?

It’s important to consider this fact: If you can’t find the joy in simply being in this moment with nothing to worry or complain about, what is your core motivation for being part of this life in the first place?

Ideally your goal in life is to be happy. Most people will claim this is what they want, and then do everything in their personal power to prevent themselves from ever attaining it.

We are hardwired for happiness, but we have been conditioned to reject it. Our most immediate opportunity to exploit the natural inclination to be happy is here and now, yet we have learned to put this off and claim we’ll “be happy when…”

Regardless of external events and circumstances you can find great peace and joy in any moment. As the sages have taught since ancient times, all one must do to know true and infinite peace is clear the mind and allow the undistorted reality of the now to unfold from within.

I believe most people know this at the intuitive level. Still they actively run away from the present moment and work tirelessly to stifle the clarity of now with constant mental chatter and nonstop daydreaming.

You deserve the blissful calm of the present moment. And you don’t need a reason, anyone’s permission, or a special ceremony to step back from the events and obligations in your life and just be happy right now.

Spend two minutes each morning just observing the present moment and allowing yourself to be truly happy. Forget about surface issues like money you owe, what your ego wants other people to think about you, and what time you need to be at your desk to begin the workday.

Even if you feel you are supposed to be stressed, angry, or bummed out, for these two minutes just be. You’ll be surprised by how quickly allegedly “pressing” issues will fall away and dissolve.

Practice letting go of everything and just allowing the still, present moment to flood into your awareness and merge with your consciousness. Really get serious about treating yourself to these two minutes of bliss every morning, and soon you’ll be making room for ten or twenty minutes; before long you’ll be determined to embrace the perfection of the present moment throughout your day, even in the midst of your routine activities.

Be aware of your rational mind as it tries to dissuade you from this pursuit. Catch yourself trying to justify why you’re totally out of line in seeking a moment of peace and joy because, after all. “You have work to do and bills to pay”.

Simply acknowledge these anxieties and then return your awareness to the peace of the moment. With time and diligence you can begin to live more of each day grounded in the now; ultimately you will be completely free from the need to sabotage your sense of well-being.

For more great insights on living in the present moment and finding your own purpose in life, be sure to visit the author’s Websites. You’ll find a wealth of information on the things that matter most in life. Visit Living in the Present Moment - How Good Can You Stand It?.

Free Your Mind and Expand Into Your True Life Experience

By Roberto Garabell

From a young age we are taught to adopt the values systems of our elders, deliberately define our identities, and then “stick to it” regardless of circumstance. Indeed we are programmed to believe that choosing an identity and clinging to it no matter what happens is somehow virtuous and noble.

When pondering this bizarre tendency and the impact it has on society one is torn between laughter and tears.

On one hand it’s so utterly ridiculous how can we not laugh out loud? At the same time self-denial on this scale is sad indeed.

Once you look past the biomechanical aspects, a human being is an expression of consciousness. By very nature, we seem designed or evolved to adapt to various intellectual and emotional stimuli.

It makes absolutely no sense to try and force yourself to think and feel a particular way. The fact is, your intellectual mind and your emotional center both respond naturally and immediately to events and circumstances without your having to process much at the conscious level.

It’s not uncommon to experience a separation from your inner self, and thus be uncertain of how you feel about a particular event. But with practice and patience you can tune back into your natural response.

Structured moral codes, and especially organized religions, teach people to model their thinking and feeling mechanisms after an ideal role model. From this incredibly flawed and unnatural foundation, said codes/religions insist their subjects direct all life experiences based on the pre-conceived patterns for how to think and feel.

But you don’t need a book, rules list, or code of conduct to tell you how you really feel about something. Your thoughts and preferences come from within, and they emerge instantly.

Resisting the thoughts and feelings that come naturally is potentially unhealthy. And attempting to deny who you really are in the moment will rob you of the spontaneous joy and expansion that are rightfully yours.

Consider this scenario:

An event happens in your life, and your conscious and emotional response is to feel a particular way about it. You aren’t making any effort to form an opinion about the event, and you are not trying to control your emotional response; you are simply reacting at the level of mind.

Your thoughts and emotional responses may or may not be in alignment with any political party, religion, or social organizations you are involved with. This does not mean you are bad, sinful, shifty, etc. and it doesn’t necessarily indicate your political, religious, and social affiliations are inappropriate.

The way you think/feel about something can be affected by varying internal circumstances like physical energy levels and existing emotional states. And your natural response to a given stimuli can depend on external factors, ranging from where something happens to the current weather conditions.

In fact your intellectual and emotional response to an event as it occurs may be different from the response you notice when you recall the event from memory. By the same token you can experience a wide range of variations in your natural response to a nearly identical event over multiple occurrences.

Because people are afraid of the unknown, they often strive to control every aspect of their reality. They can ignore certain feelings, deny particular thoughts, and essentially pretend to be someone other than who they truly are in the name of “staying safe”.

It’s time for humanity to stop being afraid of who we really are. Our species intuitively wants to move to the next level of human evolution, and for this to happen we need to release rigid, inflexible “rules” regarding how we are to think and feel about specific events.

Once we know who we really are and how we really feel about the life experience we have an honest foundation for deciding where to go next.

For more great insights on finding your life purpose and living in the present moment be sure to visit the author’s Websites. You’ll find a wealth of information on the things that matter most in life. Visit Free Your Mind and Expand Into Your True Life Experience.

How To Combine Birthday with Spirituality

By Josef Tate

Sometimes, it can be harder than expected to find that perfect present for her -

whether the ‘her’ in question is a close female relative, your wife or a

girlfriend that you’ve been with for several years. Maybe you got her a necklace

for her Valentine’s Day and a pair of earrings for Christmas - but don’t feel

that you’ve exhausted the gift possibilities of jewellery. Birthstones, for

instance, can make a fantastic - and unique - birthday present that will lend a

wonderful personal touch to her birthday.

Each month of the year is represented by a separate birthstone, each of which

has its own distinct meaning. And the use of the birthstone as a symbol of good

luck on one’s birthday has a history which is said to stretch back as far as the

first century. In 1912, the American national association of Jewellers - the

Jewellers of America - created a standardised

People born in January have the garnet as their birthstone, a deep red stone

that was originally used in thirteenth century as an insect repellent and a

guard against evil spirits! Essentially, the garnet birthstone is said to

represent constancy, a symbol of faith and devotion. The February birthstone -

the delicate purple amethyst - on the other hand, was once considered by the

Greeks as an effective antidote against drunkenness! Despite this association,

the amethyst birthstone is now seen to infer sincerity.

Those born in March will have the benefit of the clear blue aquamarine as their

birthstone, a precious jewel that symbolises courage - a feature that

perhaps dates back to the stone’s use as a “magical” antidote to poison in the

Middle Ages. But April birthdays will enjoy the luxury of having the world’s

most stunning jewel, the diamond, as their birthstone. Diamonds have been a

symbol of purity and innocence since their first discovery, with attachments to

divine beings across the world. If your loved one is born in April, a diamond is

sure to show them how special they are.

People with a birthday in May will take pleasure in the rich green emerald, a

symbol of love and success, as their birthstone, while June birthdays will be

able to enjoy the soft hues of the pearl as their unique birthday stone. The

pearl symbolises health and longevity, and has traditionally been an emblem of

feminine regenerative power - an aspect of this particular birthstone that’s

sure to have its female recipients beaming with glee.

The strong red of the ruby, July’s designated birthstone, has long been

associated with the passion of love. But the birthstone ruby is more than this -

it also stands for contentment, freedom and charity. If your special someone has

a birthday in August, you’ll be able to offer them the light green peridot, a

birthstone that is said to traditionally bring its wearer peace and good luck.

What’s more, the peridot is a symbol of marital happiness - so if your wedding

anniversary is in August as well, the peridot will have a rich double meaning

for your wife.

While for many, September may signal the beginning of the year’s short days and

long nights, people with birthdays in September will love the feeling of having

the sapphire as their birthstone. One of the most beautiful blue jewels, the

sapphire is conventionally believed to attract the favour of the Gods, while it

represents clear thinking in the birthstone context. Opals will adorn the skin

of people with birthdays in October; opals are unique in that they’re available

in a variety of colours and hues, and symbolise hope.

November birthdays take the topaz as their birthstone. This orangey-brown jewel

has long been seen as the gemstone of spiritual rejuvenation and fidelity.

Ultimately, people born in December will be able to take pleasure in the

prophylactic qualities of the turquoise stone, a blue gem that is said to bring

prosperity to its owner - something that’s sure to come in handy at Christmas.

Birthstones can be set in a variety of jewellery type and in a range of

different types of metals. So whether you’re seeking sapphires set in white gold

earrings for your girlfriend’s birthday in September, or you’re keen to find a

diamond gold necklace for your mother’s 50th birthday next April, you’ll

definitely be able to find birthstone jewellery to fit your budget and your

special someone’s personal tastes.

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