Mind plays a very significant role in making choices. A mind that is in slumber of ignorance tends to go astray and hurts us and others. Mind is like a double- edged sword. It can be used to protect or to kill. An awakened mind helps us walk on the right path. It can make us free or create bondage. It does depend on how we use it. In the Zen tradition, a distracted mind creates a lot of suffering. A mind that is fully present relieves us from pain and suffering. A mind that is present helps us make wise choices. It depends upon what kinds of choices we make. Wrong choices create bondage. Right choices create freedom. Discretion plays a significant role in making wise choices. A mind that is full of distractions creates suffering. A mind that is wakened causes peace, bliss, happiness and fulfilment. 
From my experience i have learned that it takes time to learn to walk on the right path. There are times when I have walked on the wrong path which has caused suffering to me and to my dear one and near ones. I have learned how to walk on the right path from my self-created suffering. Daily practice of living mindfully and practicing mindfulness meditation have been very helpful to me for making wise choices. Practicing mindfulness and mindfulness meditation have helped me walking on the right path. It has filled the cup of my life for living fully.  May we all remain awake and aware to walk on the right path.
Namaste!

This is heart touching real story. Yes, we need courage and moral clarity for sharing someone else's wound. Sadly, the world I live in, many people discriminate against others on the grounds of race, color and religion forgetting the we all are children of God regardless of differences. I deeply believe in equality and oneness regardless of differences. This attitude of equanimity and compassion helps me to be connected with people different from me. It is not always easy for me to stay on this path. But I am sincerely trying to follow this spiritual path. I need to keep the light of empathy and compassion shining to help me walk on the path. Gratefully I was raised by my parents who followed this spiritual path in their lives extending their hands to help others, to serve them. My brothers and sisters and my better half offered their hands when I fell down. I am very grateful to them for teaching me how to serve others. It is not always easy for me to stay on this path. Others may join their hands with me and I am grateful for that connection. If they hesitate to walk on my path, I keep on walking on my own. Walk alone on this path, on this path of awakening. I listen to this inner call and keep on walking. My prayer everyday: May we all discover our spiritual path and keep on walking on it.
Amen!
Namaste!

Based on the article by Michael Lipson, here is my reflection:

We all have a mind. How we use our mind is important. Mind can create bondage and the mind can create freedom. Mind can create darkness and the mind can create light. Our thinking can create hell or can create heaven. Mind shapes our destiny. The challenge for me is how to keep my mind open, clear, and non-judgemental. Our mind is like a two -edged sword. It can help us either to defend or to kill. Discretion between what is right and what is wrong is very crucial. We need to keep our mind clear and unbiased to see the reality, to see the truth. A free and open mind creates a bridge to connect us. A close or biased mind divides us. We need to keep our minds awake. Inner awakening helps us create harmony. Awakening helps me go through darkness. Awakening makes me free from the past that is already gone and from the future that has yet to come. Awakening helps me to live fully in the here-now world. Mindfulness, non-judgemental awareness of what's happening in the present moment creates here-now-consciousness. It takes time to awaken and to walk on the path of light and freedom. When I walk on this path of awakening it helps me live compassionately and kindly. I feel unitive consciousness in my mind and heart. Daily practice of non-judgemental mindfulness meditation helps me walk on the path of my life.
Namaste.

​The title of this passage Gymnastics of Attention written by Menka Sanghavi drew my attention. A question arose in my mind: Do I pay full and undivided attention to what is going on in my mind? Am I aware of where my mind is when I make choices? Am I mindful and aware of me making my choices? This is an important question for me to ask. This question makes me aware of where is my mind? Is it fully present in the present moment or wandering in different directions? When I am awake and aware of my mind I become centered and fully present. In these moments my mind is clear, free from the past that is already gone and free from the future that is yet to come. I have learned the significance of living in the present and not in the past or in the future. I know this is the right and wise way of living. Living this way makes my mind free from the grip of the past and the future. I flow in the river of self-consciousness which leads me to the unitive consciousness. It is a journey and it helps me live fully and openly. We all are aware of what is happening in our country. We are not the United States of America. We are the Divided States of America. We all need to work together to go from Me to We. We need to build bridges and not walls. It is a call for all of us and we all need to listen to it with an open mind and an open heart. I believe we can do it. The light of awareness shines and we need to walk together, joining hands with each other. This is very important. It is time to remain awake and aware for all of us. And I believe we can do it.
​Namaste. 

The difference Between Knowing and Not Knowing is a fascinating read for me. It helps me understand the difference between knowing and not knowing. The known is in the past and what is unknown is the future. The present is here and now, not there and then. The present is the reality. Like the authors say in the beginner's mind the possibilities are endless. I know the past which is gone and the future is unknown and has not yet arrived. If I hold on or am attached to the past there is no room for living freely and if I worry or think about the future then there is no possibility of living fully. The reality is in the here and now consciousness. Fresh and new ideas arise in the mind which is free from the past and future. As Swami Ramdass says in his book Here and Now, the reality is here and now. That reality is mysterious and true. The bottom line is to live in the world of the present, in the here and now consciousness. Such a way of living generates intimacy with me and with the mysteries of living. I have experienced such a mystery when I keep my mind and heart open, unbound by the past which is already gone and the future which is yet to arrive. I have such experiences when my mind and heart are open. Practicing mindfulness meditation, being fully present and awake in whatever I do such as walking in nature, washing dishes, brushing my teeth, taking a shower, listening to music, listening to me and others, doing Kirtan, chanting together and in my everyday life. Such experiences are very profound and they resonate deeply in my mind and heart. Such experiences are real and reliable. They create deep joy, love, fulfillment, peace and happiness in my life. This is the Beginner's Mind as The Zen Master Shunryu Susiki describes.
​Namaste! 

Below reflection is based on the article by Jonathan Harris:

We all receive gifts or blessings from nature and from human beings. Everyday I get gifts from nature-the sunshine and the sunset, from the rainy clouds and from the mother earth. When I was born, everyday I got the milk from the breast of my mother that nourished me. Every night she used to sing sweet lullabies. They still resonate with me in my heart though she passed away many years ago. She lives in my heart. My father taught me valuable lessons to know how to live spiritually. And I was blessed by many known and unknown people during my long life. I am grateful for their loving gifts. They will reside in my heart until I say goodbye to the world. How can I forget their blessings? How do I express my gratitude for their blessings? I thank them from my heart for their priceless gifts. Such memories are precious and unforgettable. Sometimes I bow to them. Sometimes I express my feelings of gratitude in words but mostly silently. Sometimes I let my heart sing songs of gratitude. Sometimes I cry when I feel their presence in my heart. I am deeply grateful to all of them for being in my relatively long life. I have come across many people in my life who have extended their loving hands to help me, to take care of me and haven't abandoned me in spite of my blunders. How can I forget them? And how can I forget mother Earth and and the natural elements for taking care of me day and night? Friends: Let us pay our homage to all living and not living people in our life. They have blessed our life and we are indebted to them.
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Namaste. 

Alisha Gorder's Article  is very interesting and instructive. Reading and reflecting on this article makes me think about how to live wisely. According to my understanding, life is fleeting. We tend to live in the delusion and fantasy that life is eternal. This delusion keeps me abiding in darkness and I forget that life is fleeting and one day my body and mind will go away. This article makes me think and live with a clear understanding of how I live my life. My life is very precious. It is very important. Today I am here and tomorrow I may not be here. This is the truth. Realizing this truth makes me live mindfully. Every breath of my life is precious and to breathe wisely. Today is the day. I may not be here tomorrow. Knowing this truth helps me know how to live daily and fully. Each day is a good day. Each day is a God's day. Each day, each breath is very precious. Seeing many people passing away in my long life has taught me how to live my life everyday. I have come to realize how to live everyday and every night. Today I am alive. Tomorrow I may not be here. Knowing this truth I have come to see the value of living everyday mindfully. Realizing the impermanence of life keeps me awake and mindful of living my life meaningfully. May we realize how to live fully and gratefully. This is my prayer. Amen.
Namaste.

​Below is my reflection to the article by Brian J Plachta:
Life is like a river flowing through ups and downs of living and I need to go with the flow. As a human being, I have gone through many ups and downs in my life. Rather than fighting against the ups and downs of life I have learnt to accept both. When I accept both I do not block the flow of energy. I accept the ups and downs of the current of the river in my life. Maintaining a dynamic balance between ups and downs saves my energy and it helps me to go with the flow. As a growing human being I have learnt that to err is human and to forgive is divine. When I err I do not deny my error. I forgive myself, learn from my errors and move on. I do not create a wall of denial, deceive myself and continue repeating the same cycle of misery. From my experience, I have learnt the lesson of not to stop the river of life flowing. From my experience I have learnt to let the river of forgiveness flow. Forgiving myself and the others in my life and loving myself unconditionally has lightened the burden of living mindlessly. I practice the art of living mindfully accepting the truth that I am not perfect and other people in my life are also not perfect. We all are on the path of learning and transforming ourselves from darkness to light. May we all join our hands and walk on the path of learning, growing and relating to each other as children of God.
Namaste!

Based on the poem from the book- Wild Honey, Tough Salt by Kim Stafford, here is my reflection to it:
Like a bird I sing my own song. it is natural for a singing bird to sing. I sing my song not for an audience. I sing my song because it delights me. A song represents me. A song sings my authentic self. When I sing a song from my heart, it expresses me. It is my own song. It's my own life story with different colors. Each color of the story represents different emotions. It's like different colors of a rainbow. Different but real. I like the phrase " unity in diversity." Each color represents its own unique and authentic story yet each color has something in common. I describe it as "oneness in manyness." Like all human beings, I go through a wide spectrum of emotions-glad, mad, sad. I have learned that all emotions are sacred. I have learned to accept them without resistance. Accepting all emotions mindfully frees me from myself-created bondage and helps me fly freely in the sky. In my opinion we all go through ups and downs in life. Life is not like a straight line. It has its own curves. I have gone through many curves in my life. By the grace of people who love me unconditionally I have gone through difficult life cycles and my faith in the awakened self and in the goodness of people around me have helped me grow holistically.
​Namaste!

Below is my reflection to the excerpt of Jac O'Keeffe:
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Our mind gets attached and addicted, not our body. The desire to eat sweet or fried foods arises in the mind, not in the body. We have five senses: smell, taste, touch, hear and see. The mind may make harmful choices and cause problems for the body. Mind is the cause of physical problems. So it is up to Buddhi, the intellect, to discriminate between what is helpful and what is harmful. Discretion is the key that opens or closes our mind's doors. Mind is the cause of freedom or bondage. We need to make wise choices for our physical, mental, emotional, relational and spiritual well-being. It took time for me to go beyond my self-centered ' I story'. I have been practicing the path of going beyond "my my, me me" walls and embracing my "us us, us us" self. Walking on this path creates a deep sense of oneness, a sense of unitive consciousness. Practicing mindfulness in different areas of my everyday life helps me walk on the pilgrimage of my life. It creates and sustains joy, love, and serenity. May we all find and follow the path of liberation, union, and harmony!

Namaste!