Beautiful writing to reflect upon. One thing I have realized that when I meet such joyful souls fully rooted into the present, there is definitely desire to be like them. But the desire to be like somebody else can be a dangerous thing as it can go into negative cycle of thoughts of I am not good enough, not present enough and the thoughts keep going on....The thing that helps is having the inner awareness and getting in touch with the "deeper Self" which is present in everyone. There are lot of instances when I loose the touch with this "self" these are the times that become entangled in the external things and situations, then bringing the awareness back to the "being" level helps me stay centered without being sucked into the negativity. Deepening this awareness can help us to be like those joyful , ever present ,radiant souls.
One of the best poems I have read in a long time. Thank you Pavi for this beautiful piece .Helped me to dive deeper and helped me to tap into my real self , the self that is connected to every thing else.
Silence for me means to shut off the voices in the mind in the form of opinions, thoughts or judgments. It means to completely stay in the "Now". Of course when ever we try to shut / resist something it only becomes louder as what ever you resist will persist. So the true meaning of silence for me is to be a witness for those thoughts , opinions and judgments and have a background of awareness behind. Silence means just being with what ever it is in the "now" with out getting caught up and sucked up and getting an identity out of it. When I started my spiritual journey I used to so for 2- 3 days silence courses where all you have to do is sit and meditate and be with yourselves. Initially it was scary not to talk to any one for 2 or 3 days but as I continued mind became stiller and calmer. Now my life circumstances have changed and I hardly go to any silence retreats but have realized that as long as you are present and rooted in the now with out getting caught up in the mind, you can feel silence even in the midst of noise. Meditation definitely helps calm the mind and be present ,but true silence can be achieved even while performing daily routine work by bringing the mind to the "now'.
On Jun 10, 2015 Padma wrote on Not Minding What Happens, by Eckhart Tolle:
This is very profound and powerful statement " I don't mind any thing that happens" which literally means being in alignment with what ever happens... When are in alignment with the present moment what ever it might be with out any resistance , fear dissolves and there is profound peace deep inside as you are playing the role of observer. Recently I have been to a spiritual hiking trip on the weekend to Portland ,Oregon. The hiking spot which was choose had some steep heights to climb. Initially when I started the hike, Fear was rising ( Can I hike these steep mountains?, what if I fall off?) Then I decided to stay in the present in alignment with what ever happens and go deeper into the fear if it arises... a wonderful transformation happened as I decided to go deeper into it without resistance, It completely dissolved ! I was able enjoy the hike to its fullest. When I came down some thing in me has dissolved and I was more open to the present moment..