Tuesday, 30 May 2023
Monday, 29 May 2023
Judgement
People wither away gradually and
silently when they are not given love and attention. They feel rejected and
neglected. Love is the only binding force but humans are short on it. Because
they don’t love themselves enough.
Mindfulness comes in handy here.
Try to understand your story.
for, the more that understanding deepens, the more you will understand the
stories of others, without criticism or judgement.
No one is perfect. Don’t “approve”
or “disapprove” of anyone because , by doing this, you are actually approving
and disapproving parts of yourself. It is an ego exercise designed to improve
your own image. But it doesn’t work that way.
Images are bubbles that can burst
easily. You cannot hold onto a bubble for long, can you?
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Friday, 26 May 2023
Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Practice
Somehow, when you meditate daily, some clarity about things you have been mulling over for a while, suddenly happens.
The mind starts reining in and
does not go haywire with confusion, indecision and imbalance.
Answers bubble up from somewhere within,
almost as if someone is talking to you and answering you. It is an amazing
experience every time.
I don’t know why such an
important practice in our lives is neglected by schools which is where it
should originate, as important, or more important than other subjects.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Monday, 22 May 2023
Human Experience
When righteousness becomes an
inflated ego pattern, there may be a possibility that harshness and unforgiving
judgements become the rule in relationships. The “I am right” syndrome
sometimes leaves little room for kindness or compassion.
Instead of understanding
imperfections, we reserve our love and unleash our anger. There are different
aspects of a human being that are seen at different times with different
interactions and with different people. And if we look deep within them, these
differences in the treatment of different people have much to do with personal
likes / dislikes/ prejudices.
Imagine a hospital scenario! An
ailing person is automatically given kindness / empathy/ compassion. Without analyzing
the individual. Because there is an overt ailment diagnosed by a certified
doctor.
We are not so indulgent with
people who may be struggling out of the hospital bed. The maladies inherent in
our sub conscious mind in the form of memories may take long to clear but
admirable is the fact that someone can actually work on themselves. Of course,
Rome was not built in a day. And to cleanse our minds may comprise of gradual
changes and yes, also rolling off the wagon once in a while. And a long time as
well.
But people prefer to brand you.
For life. Although, we see so many changes along the way within ourselves. But
we don’t give similar chances to others.
With the advent of sophisticated
technology, are we also becoming mechanical, feeling less, like robots? Self-serving
and without a spiritual heart within us? I don’t see this as “progress”.
There is a higher order we need
to discover to feel sane. The five properties that we must cultivate:
A spiritual heart
A higher intelligence
A heightened awareness
A higher will
And
A higher memory (positive)
These can transform us into what
we are meant to be. Spiritual beings on earth for a human experience!
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Friday, 19 May 2023
Wisdom
There is never any end to
discovering new aspects of our self every day. We are so unlimited actually but
still so limited when it comes to our conscious mind dealings. Our awareness is
basically confined to what our senses can discern.
When we look beyond, we see a sub
conscious mind which holds our many secrets! Many memories! Much lingering
feelings we have not healed.
So it is that we suffer, due to
the triggers that force a certain kind of behavior. And it seems to bubble up
from nowhere.
Healing becomes difficult when we
either think wrong or have no time for reflecting. Or even when we hold onto
everything we should drop immediately.
Wisdom is the only answer. That
dawns when we start looking into and accepting ourselves. Only then, having seen
our flaws, will we have the incentive to correct them.
This won’t happen unless we bare
ourselves to ourselves.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Wednesday, 17 May 2023
Challenges
You are not responsible for the
versions of you that exist in other people’s minds. This post has been
circulating for eons! Yet, we do get affected, don’t we?
The first thing is, we expect
people to speak and act in a certain way and when they don’t, there is hurt.
Their opinion of you matters! That it should not, is another matter.
Often, we could hear shocking
statements and heavy criticism about us and we don’t plead guilty at all! We
really don’t know from whence they came! The hurt becomes more intense! Reason?
Because the thought is, “how can they ever think this about me?” True?
(Ultimately, we are all looking for love and kindness.)
Ok. But they DO think that way.
It is something within THEM that needs to answer this. THAT is the important
point. It could be the inability to understand you. It could be a fickleness of
their own minds which prefer to listen to some vicious opinions of you from
others and choose to believe them because they WANT to.
You know, I have noticed that if
you already have a problem with someone, you will believe anything negative
said about them just because it endorses what you already feel. You might also
get a vicarious pleasure from hurting vulnerable souls! BUT! Surprise! You are
actually acceding to your own pollution of mind and it may have nothing to do
with that person.
So, at the end of the day, each
one has to be strong and uncaring of what opinion others hold about us.
We all live with our own challenges, our disappointments, our struggle to better ourselves each day. No one wants others who never think of correcting themselves, to opine about you. And it should be like water off a duck’s back. Tagging people is a spiritual taboo.
I am this vast universe, not
somebody ANYBODY can slot into a box. And that means each one IS that vast
expanse. However much you succeed in maligning others, that much is the
pollution YOU have accumulated and YOU need to cleanse.
Buddha was spat at but never lost
his calm for a second. Christ was nailed to the Cross. Human avatar will have
these challenges because this world is both light and dark. You can’t escape
darkness but you can accept it and then proceed towards the light.
Look at the brighter side and
darkness will not affect you. Look at the stories of everyone and understand
that some people have chosen the path of darkness and then, expect only
darkness to be thrown at you. It is natural! Traditionally, it hurts only when this
is done by the people you love. But it is ok. Love also needs no expectations
of a return. Because love is the path of light. It would be foolish to get
sucked into darkness.
Love and light are the two
blessings we all need in our lives.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Tuesday, 16 May 2023
Spiritual Realm
Absolute, untainted truth is almost always unacceptable to the average human mind. It is like wearing sunglasses to protect your eyes against the sun. Stark reality is like the blazing sun .
This is why we find sugar coated
living bearable and even motivating. The fear of discovering who we really are
rules our lives. We don’t want to go there. There is an unconscious denial to
turn inwards.
Our comfort levels lie in overt,
sometimes superficial gregariousness, almost to divert our minds from our
intrinsic nature and our inability to isolate ourselves to find ourselves. For,
meditation is nothing but that. To eliminate the thought that works as a veil
between the divine and you. In other words, thoughts become an impediment
because they immediately combine with senses and pollute the mind which,
actually, needs to be purified to make headway into the spiritual realm.
All our lives, we exist like
this, until the end of our lives.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Monday, 15 May 2023
Thursday, 11 May 2023
Tuesday, 9 May 2023
Adversity
With every so called adversity, rejuvenate yourself. Life is to be lived, not to be lamented over. You can either give energy to your dark memories and experiences or create your own happy space with the many cherished memories. And create new ones.
I don’t know if anyone of us is infallible!
It is for each of us to rewire ourselves wherever and whenever any thought,
speech or action produces discomfort. And sure, it happens to us all.
At such times, look within
immediately and go to the root of the discomfort. It is always within you. Not
outside
The moment you gloat about your success;
life confronts you with yet another challenge. So, be aware of the blessings
upon you and live in gratitude.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Monday, 8 May 2023
Gratitude
Someone has rightly said that
success without planning is luck. And success with effort and struggle is an
achievement. Envy therefore, has no value. All of us can create our own goals
and work hard to achieve them. There is no other way, unless the credit balance
of your “punya” gives you a place you perhaps did not “earn”. Like, being born
into a wealthy family.
One really has to reflect very
seriously and deeply on where one’s journey is each moment. And how much one is
capable of in terms of truthfully assessing the self. We do tend to block what
we don’t intrinsically like about ourselves, but cannot change.
New experiences need courage.
Comfort and repetitive living will keep you from growth. One way to start the
process of growth is to question everything we think, say and do. The weeds
need to be pulled out, however painful, for the plant to grow in a healthy way.
Every year, we make resolutions.
Some of us fall back into tested patterns and achieve more stagnation of the
mind. Unable to heal our hurts and complexes, understanding that we can start
afresh from the day the realization dawns that our thinking is not growth
oriented.
There is so much accent on self-help today. We need to make an intention and immerse ourselves in this attempt while doing our usual routine. As they say, anything, even a mundane chore, can be done in different ways and joy derived from it. All we need is a simple mind with a clear intention.
And let us not forget the people
who have nurtured us, even if it was a ” cruel to be kind” attitude in an
attempt to teach us the right values. Respect for all forms of life is imminent
in our journey to find ourselves. Because it is linked with how much we respect
ourselves. So, love and compassion are the two most vital prerequisites for
personal evolution. For us and others. They start with gratitude and blessings
for one and all.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Friday, 5 May 2023
Thursday, 4 May 2023
Lesson
Some management principles teach you to apply them in other aspects of life as well. Learning about leadership and teamwork was an important lesson.
A leader HAS to be a good team
player. You have to carry your team with you. In families and groups, too, this
is the duty of a family head or heads or group leaders.
When practiced, it needs many
qualities: the humility to listen to other viewpoints, the awareness that
others could have the wisdom to teach you a few lessons, the ability to be an
alchemist, to bring out the best in everyone including you, not letting the ego
dominate, not being judgmental … etc.
After all, the workplace
comprises of human beings. We just need to incorporate elevating habits to
achieve our goals.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Wednesday, 3 May 2023
Tuesday, 2 May 2023
Observation
People who oscillate between not
liking but grudgingly also admiring certain aspects of a person complicate the
relationship. Personal likes and dislikes basically depend on your self-esteem
status. and from that stems all judgement, all complexes and all adverse
action. Even competitive, ego inspired action. “I am better” syndrome. Yes, if
you are better every day, that is wonderful! But if that observation is in
comparison with someone else, that is wrong thinking.
We know we are not intrinsically
like that but we are compelled by our mind pollution that tells us what will
makes us feel good. And an afflicted mind is more misleading than otherwise.
People talk so much about mind
control. As a healer, I believe that to cleanse the mind, though more
difficult, is more permanent. Controls can slip but a cleansed mind carries no
contradictions.
The world is buzzing with talks
on the need for meditation, relaxation: anti stress, natural medication for
cleansing our mental, emotional and physical toxins.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Monday, 1 May 2023
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