Self-Respect

It is amazing how limited and clouded a mind we walk around with. The more comfort there is around us, the less we are inclined to notice that clouded aspect of us.

How do we live with this heavy burden of our feelings of likes / dislikes, our jealousies and hatreds, our desire to wound people we dislike and at the same time, craving to be loved by everyone?  Does this also become a part of our comfort levels where we revel in such activities and derive a vicarious pleasure? Because the two are so contradictory and, impossible if I may say so.

The clouds that cover our mind will not let clarity enter. In the absence of clarity, we are unable to look through the opacity of those clouds and into our real selves.

That’s why we must avoid thoughts and emotions which are not crystal clear and pure. For this to happen, we need to love and respect ourselves first.

Self-respect should prevent any action by us that makes us fall in our own self estimation and from the grace within us if we have not forgotten the truth of who we are.

When people look at our goodness and righteousness, they also respect us because such people are rare and therefore, respect worthy.  Why then would we stoop down to levels where we don’t respect ourselves?

Maybe, we have had to struggle. Maybe, we have had to let go of memories of hurt, betrayal and more. But in all of this, if we have been able to stand upright as tall as the tree that faced several storms, our value as a human being would multiply manifold. To ourselves and to others.

And that is where we need to be to access the divine frequency.

Surekha Kothari

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

www.instagram.com/author_surekhakothari/

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Privilege

There are moments of grief and moments of happiness for all souls. When we feel good, we want to hold that space forever. But often, it is only as steady as a house of cards. Until the next event arrives with its challenges.

Hopefully, instead of making our minds like a yoyo, we learn to learn to modify our thoughts and reactive patterns.

Personally, I have learnt that the position of an observer is the best. Let everything happen outside of you, observe, analyze and let go of what can be damaging, if internalized.

Maintaining the inner calm and peace against all odds makes you a role model. Because you have followed the ultimate teaching of being a “drashta”, an observer. Very difficult but a totally liberating learning, if achieved.

Having said this, humans are flawed. It is not easy to develop lofty ideals overnight. We are creatures of habit and the body of our thoughts has been trained to think and act as per our comfort level. The concepts of right and wrong have been diluted because that would mean overhauling your internal system and doing that is exhausting for most.

Within this context, wisdom is to streamline your life, retaining the people around who care and lend to each other’s happiness quotient as much as possible to counteract the oppressing circumstances that we all inevitably have to face as our karma keeps unfolding and throws challenges at us constantly.

This is HOPE and this is LIGHT. And this is the privilege and power to ascend.

Surekha Kothari

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

www.instagram.com/author_surekhakothari/

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Similarities

 Everything is energy. Words have their own energy. Therefore, we must be very careful in what we say. To others, definitely but it is equally important what we say to ourselves.

I constantly catch myself saying very debilitating words to myself when I am angry or unhappy or even depressed. Running ourselves down, beating ourselves up for the mistakes we make… the ensuing anger and self-deprecation can become very hardened, like cement, over a period of time. And healing that becomes a difficult task.

Without realizing this, a lot of this is internalized through external sources and people. They seem to compound our already shaky opinions of ourselves.

We tend to cling on to the negative angles of every episode in our lives, forgetting that there are positive ways to look at the same episode. And those who can SEE the positivity have only an increasing positive energy in their words.

Our acceptance of everything depends on this. See things as just different instead of contrary to us and to see how peace can descend without conflict. See similarities instead of differences and your words will become gentle and comforting.

There is no need to run anyone down. Each one is here just to experience their body of karma. No one can be a clone of you. An apple cannot be an orange and a rose cannot be an orchid. They are all unique.

So are we, souls out here to help each other through each life to fulfil our soul contract.

So, guard your energies. With your thoughts, words and actions.

Live and let live amicably.

Surekha Kothari

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

www.instagram.com/author_surekhakothari/

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Faith

Wisdom says “don’t overthink”. But it is not easy, especially when you crave answers that are not forthcoming any time soon. And as time passes and you live in more and more uncertainty, thoughts and questions deepen … overthinking is natural.

These symptoms are indicative of a need to be in control of your life. Uncertainty in the smaller things is still acceptable but when it concerns your important things like relationships, success, you need that knowledge to be comfortable.

Fear of the unknown is a major disaster waiting to explode anytime you can’t gauge or anticipate its severity. But conversely, you have no control over it either.

The only thing that makes sense then, is to hold on. And hold your wisdom in your space. To strengthen your resolve to remain steady within your faith, for that is worth holding space for, for miracles in your life.

Surekha Kothari

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

www.instagram.com/author_surekhakothari/

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Silence

There are daily stimuli and our responses to them. But we seldom have the awareness of that minuscule pause between them. That pause goes unnoticed because of our lack of awareness. And therefore, that pause which is actually there for us to respond with thought and wisdom becomes a reaction. Only because the ego just flies in to that pause and takes over to change our would have been response to a hasty reaction.

Naturally, if an object comes hurtling towards you, you will instinctively change course to avoid it. But when it comes to a stimulus coming from objects of our dislike, we retaliate instead of changing course at that time. We prefer a collision, a clash also, more than our peace.

This is really strange when we think of it. Two responses to similar stimuli.

People think silence is weakness but it can be the most powerful tool in our evolution. We don’t have to respond each time. Silence works very well. It gives clarity to our thoughts so much so that when we act, it becomes an act of wisdom.

Surekha Kothari

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

www.instagram.com/author_surekhakothari/

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Saturation Point

 All these years, having been in denial and argued and vented, finally, truth has dawned! Everything happens for a reason. Everything was meant to be. We thought we were taking the decisions but, was it so? Really? Were our reactions valid then?

Actually, what is meant to stay, stays. And what is meant to get over, just gets over. WE reach a saturation point in a lot of the cases. And in some, the choice is not ours.

And yet, all our lives, we fight and stress, and refuse to let go to move forward. We forget that karma is at work constantly. Our debts call out . Also our credits are interspersed with those debts we must pay. When we experience the joy of good karma, we forget easily. What remains and sustains is the unpleasant memories.

As the wise have wisely said, cut thoughts. Cut memories. They are the source of all the attachment and egos at play in our lives. And when there are no thoughts, it is automatic surrender to a higher power. This is the ultimate in our journey, isn’t it?

Surekha Kothari

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

www.instagram.com/author_surekhakothari/

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Memories

 Whenever we go through an unpleasant experience, we tell ourselves” I don’t deserve this”.

Now, with a new perspective, i have started thinking,” why do you think you DON’T deserve this?” Everything is meant to be. We don’t know which karma related issue brought into our lives what we think we don’t deserve.

And this thought takes me along a new line of thought. There is always a reason. Nothing is random in this world.

If we don’t like something, only we have the power to change it. No one else can change anything for us. That’s how it is.

Take charge of your thoughts, your reactions, your mind. Change/ improve habits, do whatever it takes to clear your energies so that you can help others.

Jealousy, hatred, intolerance gets us nowhere except into a bottomless pit.

If you read about the reformers that have walked this earth, you will see that their paths were strewn with thorns laid out by the selfish and the ignorant. But these reformers never practiced hatred… they remained compassionate.

It is the way of the world that if you throw brickbats at people instead of love and compassion, you will start a chain of cause and effects beneficial to no one.

I am amazed by the stories of our apostles, who, in the face of personal adversities, reformed the lives of so many, on the strength of their compassion and teachings, more so, teaching by example.

Buddha transformed a murderer like Angulimala. And this is only one story.

I believe these reformers had the power to extract the venom of misguided thoughts from the minds of people. We all struggle only with our reactionary thoughts and bad memories. We have the power to delete them with a strong and determined intention. Our minds react from our lower selves, to petty incidents because perhaps, the mind has become a vessel polluted by negative reactions again and again over a long period of time. To extricate ourselves from this quagmire requires a super realization of its futility and a strong and consistent determination.

And mind you, we don’t have to ill treat people and hurt them to teach them lessons. We can do so lovingly too. But do we?

And then watch your growth!

Surekha Kothari

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

www.instagram.com/author_surekhakothari/

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Quote of the day

 

Quote of the day

 

Comparison

 Sometime in life, you have to develop your sense of peace, which is yours alone.

Whatever you have is enough.

Whatever your needs are will be met by the universe.

HE will decide when you receive, what and how much you receive.

The futility of thoughts can take away from peace.

Comparisons are odious, to say the least.

Moving forward is the key and the tendency to JUST BE!

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Quote of the day

 

Quote of the day

 

Realization

 It is a natural human tendency to look at the outside world and, according to our value systems, find others to be lacking or otherwise. The catch phrase here is” according to our values systems”.

The entire judgement factor stems from this. We all build up our own value systems according to who we are and what our experiences are. Different things work for different people. At different times and we keep changing as wisdom dawns.

Each of us therefore, has to give each one their due. There is really no need to invade someone else’s space with analysis and criticism.

Anyway, criticism borders on “I am better than you” aspect which is not quite right. And you will see the evidence of this in the fact that people you criticize have their own friends and followers. Evidently then, what they live with are not wrong principles but different from yours. You may not agree but that’s ok. You don’t need to harbor any feelings about that. Letting go of what is not compatible with your energy is vital to growth.

At the end of the day, we need to recognize that each one has a different journey and the universe has the capacity to hold and protect all of us.

Yes, we do have to keep learning and evolving till we teach the truth about ourselves. But that is the extent and the ultimate for our journey, as it is for the others. How soon we will reach that point of realization, depends on our thinking, understanding and reflecting on ourselves. And then proceeding to work on ourselves as we go along.

“Live and let live”. Try and live well and with awareness of our thoughts, our actions and what we need to cleanse from our huge bank of memories.

Our memories spark our likes and dislikes. We need to keep away from both.

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

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Practice

 

There is never a time when we can build up a case in favour of pettiness or meanness. Ultimately, the onus comes back to us. OUR thoughts, our reactions, our prejudices.

I understand perfectly that we have faced all this and more from other people. But, after much churning and trying out all options , it ultimately OUR choice: to retaliate and give it as good as we get, or to look at such people kindly and know there is something within that have not come to terms with.

That effort, though very tough, will pay rich dividends. It is a daily practice. And will have terrific blocks to overcome. Because the moment you make such an intention, the universe will start testing you with irritating episodes coming your way to see how strong is your resolve.

These are enough to get frustrated and leave the practice. But better to continue the practice. Otherwise, no results will be forthcoming.

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

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Experience

 

Today, I am This. My experiences from all lives , some of which are experienced in this life, are sacrosanct, good or bad , as both teach me lessons if I know how to learn the lessons inherent in them.

This minute, I can connect with my consciousness to understand where I am not thinking right. The past, the thoughts , the reminder of the unpleasant are all leeches which one has to pluck out and throw away, however painful the process might be for the body and the mind. Is there anyone who can like the leeches gripping you for ever ? No.

But we do have the others in leech form that are painful and agonising but we seem to revel in our pain. Very difficult to understand ! Still more difficult when they come from outside . Not that self inflicted pain is more reasonable ! Every pain is a choice and has a solution.

There is just not enough understanding and therefore, error in prioritising. It is like sitting down and waiting for the lion coming after you, to swallow you.

When “I” identifies with “me”, we are weakened by that ego which can be very destructive if we don’t watch out.

So , we need to use the power of NOW to get wise.

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Personality

 When abuse becomes virtually a religion, manipulation becomes your second skin. What a pity that there are people who would be callous enough to abuse their own parents , let alone outsiders ! That anyone can be so self absorbed that all the filters in behaviour disappear.

We speak of upbringing , sensibilities, grace, loyalty and all

Those fine endowments of our personality which come from

The old world. But where IS that world ?

Thoughts of bygone eras are only memories , memories that bring you misery in the wake of the current scenario where , unless you are diplomatic with “family” also , more often than not, you have to pay a huge price with being persecuted. Because love is not a currency that works anymore. It is only the art of superficiality that gets you everywhere. But ultimately, it is manipulation because it does not come from the heart.

I still have the ability to feel a sense of shock, a disbelief , when I see such episodes being enacted. It gets difficult to then focus on the beautiful side of life . The ugliness is too consuming ! At least for a while !

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Quote of the day

 

Quote of the day