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!

Based on the writing by Jay Litvin, here is my reflection:
According to my understanding of empathy, sympathy, and compassion, they all are threads of the texture of spirituality. I do not think of these spiritual qualities in my mind but feel them in my heart and manifest them in my daily life.

There are two aspects of these qualities: self and other. Two sides of the same coin. Self-care, self -empathy, self -sympathy and self-compassion and empathizing, sympathizing and feeling compassion for others. I cannot give others what I don't have within myself. As Thich Nhat Hanh says, " Loving oneself is the foundation of loving others." Others regardless of caste, color, race, gender and religion. These spiritual qualities are like seeds in the soil of consciousness. They need to be cultivated and nurtured. When I am that state of consciousness I feel uplifted, enriched, and fulfilled.

Being alert and aware of my thoughts, feelings, emotions and actions helps me to walk on this spiritual path. It is a blessing. May we all cultivate and nourish such spiritual qualities in our life.
Namaste!

Based on George Saunders article, below is my reflection to it:

"Yatha drushti tatha srushti" is an old wise saying in Sanskrit. As is my vision so is my world.
What is my vision made of? Is it made up of my self interest, self- serving purpose then my world view will be narrow. If my vision of the world is shaped by going beyond my self-serving purpose, then a transformation takes place in my outlook, actions and ways of living my life. I transcend my ego-what is in for me, and I go beyond my self-serving narrow world. I feel others are me. My consciousness becomes larger and higher. I go thriving beyond surviving. I feel a part of the lager world, a citizen of the unaverse. A universe in which we relate to each other as brothers and sisters. Going beyond oneself is a spiritual journey. It has not been easy for me to go beyond myself.
My parents were good role models for me. I learned from them how to live spiritually, how to serve others unselfishly, how to go beyond my self -serving thinking and behaving. How not get attached to my egoistic desires, thinking and behaving. It took time for me to internalize this teaching. I slowly and gradually acquire these spiritual qualities and I am very grateful to them for helping me to walk on this less traveled road. Spiritual practices like Mindfulness Meditation and Mindfulness living have been very helpful to me for staying on the course. My inner life is getting filled with kindness, compassion, contentment and joy.

Namaste!

Here is my reflection to Chuang Tzu's poem:

​"Emptiness is Fullness" sounds paradoxical. This is the Tao - the way of living with no burdens of possessions, power, prestige, pride and prejudice. As I was growing I used to get messages from elderly people to work hard to outshine others, to earn name and fame. My boat of life was loaded with aspirations and ambitions without realizing that I was becoming my own enemy.
Self-awareness, open-mindedness and cultivating courage to be my real and authentic self opened the doors to be my self. I felt light as the boat of my self was slowly getting empty of self-created burdens and feeling the fullness of living a simple but fulfilling life. It is indeed paradoxical: By renouncing we rejoice; by emptying we become full. I know knowing is one side of the door and living is another side of the door. We need to open both sides of the door to walk freely, to live fully. What helps me walk and stay on this path? Non-judgemental Self-awareness, openness, humility, loving kindness and remaining awake have been very helpful to me. It is a slow journey. No need to hurry. Follow the Tao gratefully!
Namaste!

Based on the excerpt from "Winnie the Pooh" by A.A. Milne, below is my reflection:
​
The dialogue between Pooh and Piglet offers many lessons to me. When someone is anxious, worried and fearful like Pooh, it does not need advice but the authentic and solid nonjudgmental presence and whole hearted support. The wise words of Piglet are worth paying attention to. "I will be always be here to listen and support you and for you to know that you are heard. I can't make these anxious feelings go away, not really, but I can promise you that all the time I have breath left in my body, you won't ever need to feel those anxious feelings alone."
There have been times when I felt worried, fearful, and anxious like Pooh. Advice that I should not be anxious, worried and fearful did not help me. But when someone heard me empathetically, patiently, and lovingly I felt deeply supported and relieved from anxiety, helplessness and hopelessness. I learned the value and power of authentic presence and support.  Experiential learnings is a great tool for deep change and transformation.
​Namaste!

This reading is very important not only for the young generation but also for the old generation. The traditional conventional orthodox and dogmatic religions are not relevant to the young generation. The great ship of the fundamentalist religion seems to be sinking and as Laurence Freeman says," the resurgence of on an unprecedented scale on the contemplative scale of the contemplative dimension -indeed heart-of religion." Though I am of the old generation, I am on the same wave length. We all have hunger to walk on the spiritual path, a path of awakening and actualizing of human potential - self-actualization, self-realization.
The traditional dogmatic religions cannot quench or fulfill our hunger and quench our thirst. Spirituality light up our inner light. It is beyond praise and blam, and has no space and time boundaries. It dwells in all of us. Contemplative practices open the inner door to see it. It brings all people together and creates brotherhood and sisterhood- harmony. Contemplation by itself is not enough. It has to join hands with action. I know it and try to live my life by implementing contemplative practices. It is an everyday practice. I experience heartfelt joy and contentment.

I love how Dalai Lama responded to a question asked by a reporter, "What is your religion?" Dalai Lama answered, "Compassion and loving kindness is my religion and I live by it." This reminds me of Mahatma Gandhi's response to a question, "What is your message?" And he said," Life is my message." As the author says, "We all seek wholeness". We all feel longing for wholeness. I relate to these wise statements by doing selfless service, by holding a hand of a someone feeling pain, by relating to someone compassionately and kindly who is suffering, and by unconditional positive regard. By practice it gets easy, effortless, and natural. And I feel fulfillment and gratitude. Life is a blissful journey, a pilgrimage.

​Namaste

Here is my reflection to a thought provoking article by Ella Cara Deloria:

Speech is silver. Silence is golden. I love this wise saying. I hope and wish talkative people know it and put into practice. Sadly, it is mostly reversed. Speech has become golden and silence has become silver. One of the hall marks of effective communication is listening with full and quiet attention and then respond. When someone talks, the poor listener is not interested in listening; he is interested in talking. It is vey frustrating experience for the listener. There is an ancient wise saying in Sanskit: " Guorostu maunam vakhyanam Shishtastu chinna samshayaha." Student's doubts are shattered by the silence of the Guru. The Guru teaches by silence. The teacher becomes a role model. The Guru observes the student with full attention and reads the mind of the student. The student learns a lesson of silence by fully paying attention to his Guru.
I am a teacher, counselor, and grandfather. I always listen to my students, clients, and grandchildren by listening empathetically what is going in their mind and heart. When I do this, they open up their heart and mind. Remaining mindfully silent empathetically and compassionately by listening, they feel understood and connected. There are many ways we communicate besides verbally- we communicate though our sensory channels such as eyes, ears, brows, hands, and touch. In order to understand the other person I need to be a silent observer, a silent listener with empathy and compassion. If we do not relate to other person this way, the bridge of communication and relationship breaks down. It is challenging for me as a listener how to relate to someone who has a strong urge to talk about himself without stopping for listening. Then it becomes a unipolar communication. As I had mentioned before, when I encounter such situations I empathetically and compassionately relate to such a person. And ask him to think about how he would he feel if he were in my position. This role reversal technique helps him. What helps me to relate to such people in my life is mindfulness practice, to relate to them with empathy and loving kindness, patience, and perseverance. I keep a beginner's mind and do not let me bound by the past events and be fearful or anxious about the future. And that provides modelling for them. Accepting we are not perfect and there is hope for making a shift is comforting.

Namaste!