Based on the original post by Aldous Huxley, below is my reflection:

Knowledge is acquired from past experiences. Knowledge is subjective and objective. It has duality. Me and you, this and that. Past and present. Knowledge has divisiveness.
Understanding has non-dual consciousness. Beyond me and you there is we, there is us. Understanding is nonverbal. Understanding is existential awareness. Understanding is non-argumentative. Understanding has wholeness. Understanding is not bound by the past and is not captivated by the future. It is here and now consciousness. Understanding has emptiness, free from likes and dislikes, free from the grip of attachment and aversion.
I have multiple unconditional relationships. When I relate to myself , to my family members, friends, and strangers , and nature with an open mind and an open heart, I feel oneness. Being fully present helps me create understanding of myself and others. Being aware of what is happening in my body, mind and heart without judging helps me understand myself. Being mindfully present with others and nature helps me cultivate understanding. Spiritually speaking it creates unitive consciousness, oneness.
Namaste!

Nature offers so many noble gifts of wonderment, joy, and beauty. In order to enjoy and appreciate these noble and wonderful gifts we need to be silent as Mary Oliver says " In order to be light and frolicsome" we need "only the silent confirmation." Reading these words "the silent confirmation" reminds me of the Taoist path of silence. Once Laotzu, the author of Taoism, was walking with his friend silently deeply enjoying the gifts of nature, birds welcoming the rising sun and the sky displaying wonderful colors, his companion uttered " Vow! What a beautiful sight!". Lao Tzu asked him to witness the beauty of nature without uttering a word.
When my wife passed away, I felt deep grief and sadness. Remaining silent helped me to go through the grieving process, the "dark night of the soul." I have also enjoyed the bright rays of the sun and the thick darkness of the night. I have learnt to go with the flow of life without resistance. When I have resisted the flow of life I have suffered more. Mindfulness of what's happening inside and letting it come and go helps me relate to the phenomenal world freely without any bondage.
​Namaste!

Based on the article written by Anthony De Mello, here is my reflection:

Spirituality or holiness or selfless love cannot be obtained by making efforts. They are states of Being, not becoming. Becoming is like a behavior that can be acquired, changed, or modified. Spirituality is isness, presence, realty, truth, tathata as the Buddha says. It is formless, shapeless, sizeless, nameless and timeless. It is eternal. It is transcendental. We cannot purchase it or sell it. It is not a commodity. It is beyond a transactional mindset.

Spirituality is always present. It is like light that always shines. It is like love that never dies. I need to be awake to see it and experience it. When I get binded by my self-centered and selfish eyes, I lose it. When I crave for it and try to hold it, I lose it. It is always present in my inner home, inner being. What helps me remain aware of this reality? When things do not go the way I want, I become aware of how I am affected by not acquiring what I wanted. I create a space between the triggering stimulus and my response. I take a few deep, slow and gentle breaths that helps me not to react impulsively. It quiets and clears my mind and it helps me to respond wisely. As the Buddha says, when an arrow of hurt is thrown by somebody, do not throw a counter arrow of hurting the one who throws the first arrow of hurting you. Sadly, many arrows of reactions are thrown at each other in relationships that hurts and bleeds the heart of each other. Non-judgemental awareness, loving kindness and insight of wisdom has helped me to be free from my reactive behaviors. Practicing mindfulness is like a mirror that allows me to see my face and to open my eyes to see the truth and act accordingly.
Namaste!

Based on the article excerpted from Dacher Keltner’s new book, below is my reflection:

A moment of surprise with an open and curious mind creates awe to me. Seeing a child smiling, a flower blooming, watching the cloud sailing in the vast blue sky, seeing a lotus smiling in the muddy water, children giggling with no reason, and a friend showing up unannounced brings surprising and joyful feelings of awe in my heart. I welcome them as guests gratefully. When I keep the door of my mind and heart open, a new arrival comes with a gift of awe and wonderment. I sit near a window in my study room and I see clouds coming and going, birds chirping, leaves changing colors.

When my mind is free and is unoccupied by past thoughts and feelings and not worrying about the future, I am in the here and now consciousness. I see the panorama of natural sights and sounds and it offers me gifts of awe, joy and wonderment. There is a beautiful saying in Sanskrit: khshe khshe yat nanvatam upeti tadeva roopam ramanniyataha: Beauty is that brings newness every moment. It is not easy to live in the here and now consciousness. Mind gets occupied by past pleasant and unpleasant memories and imaginations or worries about the future. Mindfulness of what is going in the mind and heart without being bound by these thoughts and judgements creates witnessing consciousness and it helps me to see wonders of the present moment. In such moments, the dividing line between you and me fades away and it creates moments of here and now wonderment.
Namaste!

Here is my reflection to the poem by John Paul Moore:

The cup of my happiness 0verflows when I hold someone's tired hand to lighten their load. The cup of my happiness doesn't get empty. It overflows and continues overflowing with joyful gratitude. It's by giving we receive. As the poet says, "I am reaping better than I've sowed." The cup of happiness overflows when I give a gift of pure love to someone unconditionally. My cup of happiness never gets empty when I hold someone's tired hand as if it's my hand. When my hands were tired by the heavy burden I was carrying, one of my friends noticed it and lightened my burden by holding my hands compassionately. Selfless service lightens heavy emotional load we carry in our life. Lightening such heavy loads is a spiritual way of living. Living life this way the world becomes a family, a nest, and life becomes a blessing. May we all hold each other's hands like brothers and sisters and make this world an abode of peace and harmony. This is my New Year's Prayer. Let us fill the cup of our life overflowing.
​Namaste!

This passage authored by Eckhart Tolle reminds me the wise teachings of the Buddha. We all suffer. This is the noble truth. Suffering arises in our mind and heart by remaining attached to and bound by the past. Awareness of suffering becomes the doorway into transcending suffering. Awareness of what binds us and following the light of awareness makes us free. This is the noble way of living. It's a journey from darkness to light, from bondage to freedom.

We as human beings go through self-created darkness. We create our own suffering by clinging on to the past. I was in deep loving relationship with a person whom I loved very deeply and dearly. When she passed away I felt emptiness in my life. I deeply suffered, emotionally. I felt like doing nothing and stay in the cave of darkness. My staying in the dark nights of the soul lasted for a long time. Practicing mindfulness meditation woke me up and helped me to see the light. My suffering became a doorway to inner freedom. Facing it mindfully with loving kindness and compassionately helped me to be free from my self-created bondage. Waking up and remaining awake requires inner work, diligence , patience, and perseverance. Such awakening has brought deep joy, happiness and fulfilment in my life. May we all keep the inner light shine and be blessed by awakening!
Namaste! 

Based on the reading by Michael Lipson, here is my reflection;

​The full breath has two complementary processes: inhalation and exhalation. No inhalation is possible without exhalation and no exhalation is possible without inhalation. Inhalation is like holding and exhalation is like releasing. If I want to understand another person's perspective, I need to really listen to the other person's voice and letting go of my voice. Otherwise two voices collide creating discord in our relationships. Sadly this way of communication results in relationship breakups. Relationship is not a one way street. Conflicts arise and result in deadly wars and many innocent people get killed. In counseling sessions I often see such patterns of communication in couples resulting "I am right and you are wrong". When they learn how to listen to each other in a reciprocal way, relationships get better. They acquire the skill of creating a wholesome balance between holding and releasing. What helps me create such a balance is by being fully present and quietly listen empathically to what the other person is saying. Such communications clears up clouds of misunderstanding and creating a bridge of wholesome relationships.

Namaste. 

Poet Pablo Neurada reminds me of a poem written by an anonymous Zen master.
                                     Sitting by the river
                                     Doing nothing,
                                     Spring comes
                                     The grass grows by itself.
Such words of wisdom have been sign posts in my life, a daily reminder to count up to twelve, be in the zone of being, letting go of my busy and often noisy world of doing and having. Such words remind me to pause, feel and be with my natural rhythm of life giving and life sustaining breath, to count up to twelve, to stay in the being zone. Such words have been my daily prayer washing  away the noise of irritation and agitation, frustration and anger, and fear and anxiety. Such words open up the door for meeting my being without craving and without holding. They create a wide open space  filled with unseen beauty, unheard sound, and unknown strangers. Such words take me to a land of emptiness filled with fullness, a land of formless forms, a land beyond space and time. This is my daily prayer, a meditative prayer creating birth of joy, awe, joy, fulfillment  and gratitude in in my daily living.

May we take time out to count up to twelve everyday to be connected with our being!
​
Namaste!

I deeply appreciate reading Three Mystical Powers written by Fred LaMotte. Reading this article, I got three precious gifts of living a full life.
First gift: Abandon noise making mind, noise of anger, fear, frustration, and resentment. By letting go of the noise in my mind I hear the sound of silence. In that silence I listen to my heart beats of love, compassion, and kindness.
Second gift: The joy of giving, of seeing the light of my Real Self.
Third gift: Liberating myself from the bondage of craving and lightening my self-created load. When I let go of my growth-binding breath, the door of my heart opens up to see the light and be free from deep darkness.
Walking on the path of awakening is not an easy journey for me. Sometimes I run into self-created walls, the walls that obstruct seeing the light of truth. I stumble and fall down and hurt myself and others in my life. Such stumbling wakes me up and I see the light of awakening and resume my pilgrimage of living fully and selflessly. This is a journey of Self-awakening, of Self-realization. From my falling I learn to get up and resume my path of Self-awakening. There have been times when my mind is filled with lots of noises of fear, frustrations and agonies. Daily practice of meditation and mindfulness helps me to listen to the space beyond the faintest sound. Self-discipline helps me to stay firm and steady in my journey of life.
​Namaste! 

Based on the writing by Tiruvalluvar, in The Tirukkural: A New English Version, Translation by Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

Reading this passage reminds me of David Thoureau who wrote about gratefulness, "I am grateful for what I am and what I have. My thanksgiving is perpetual." When I help someone in distress I do not expect anything in return. My heart is filled with deep joy. When someone offers a helping hand to me my heart is filled with deep gratitude. As the author Tiruvalluvar says," A good turn done is a heaven-born gift you cherish... Ask 'Will (they) repay it?' and it will perish." I always gratefully remember the person who has helped me and has been kind to me. I forget right away who has wronged me.

Kindness is not measured by size and shape. Small acts of kindness are as valuable as big acts of kindness. Kindness whispers quietly in my ears," I am here for you." I have been blessed by having people who have extended their helping hands joyfully whenever I need their help. And the same way I am vey happy to hold somebody's hand when he is in distress. It is a very fulfilling and enriching experience for me. I will never forget kindness of someone who financially helped me when I was studying in a college. Such experiences have enriched my life and have inspired me to be helpful and kind to others who are in distress. I have learned from my experiences of kindness and compassion not to hold on to hold to my grudge against the " wrong-doers." As human beings we are not perfect. We all have our own limitations. From my pesonal experiences of "wrong-doing" I have learnt the value of forgiving myself for my wrong-doings and the wrong-doings of others. I practice the age-old wise saying, "To err is human, to fogive is divine". This light of wisdom keeps me awake, and aware to walk wisely on the path of my life.
​
Namaste!