Mon, 19 May 2025 16:14:45 -0700WeeblyFri, 16 May 2025 17:03:46 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/circles-and-dots​​This is a very interesting story authored by Ameeta Kaul. According to my understanding the dot represents the individual self and the circle represents the universal self. It is like an island in the ocean. Outwardly both the universal self and the individual self look different. But when we go beyond the individual self, we see the universal self. It's a matter of perspective. The limited and narrow perspective creates the world of several individual dots creating distance between one dot and other dots. It creates divisiveness and disintegration in the forms of race, religion, caste, class and political parties. When such differences create walls of ups and downs and mine and thine, such differences create fights, battles and wars.

We are seeing the impact of this mindset in our own country and in many other countries. Such walls could result in everyday stress and tension in relationships and it may result in fights, battles and wars. It is my conviction that we are going to go through a lot of stress and tension that will have a severe impact on our personal, interpersonal and universal life. There is still time to wake up to build bridges of unconditional love, kindness, compassion and consideration. I have witnessed and experienced the power of unconditional love and acceptance in my own life. Such experiences have enriched and blossomed my life. I am offering weekly zoom sessions in which people from different countries and races, of different religious orientations join hands and hearts to create harmony in spite of differences. Differences can create thick and big walls. We can overcome these self-created walls and create oneness in manyness, unity in diversity. This is a journey and I invite all of us to join our heads, hearts and hands and work for unity. And that way we create love, kindness and compassion in the world. This is my aspiration. This is my prayer!
​Namaste. ]]>Sat, 10 May 2025 15:29:04 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/why-diy-devotion-doesnt-workHere is my reflection to the article written by Sumir Nagar:

It is indeed sad to see spirituality has become "Spiritual fast food." It is something I can buy from outside of me-like a commodity. I can purchase from outside and it becomes my food for fulfilling my spiritual hunger. If it is true, then rich and affluent people will go to heaven and poor people will go to hell. Unfortunately and sadly there are people who are looking for outside sources for their spiritual awakening and inner fulfillment. I remember my childhood days when by living a simple life we were contented and happy. I learned that happiness comes from within by helping someone who needs my undivided attention and my helping hand. I have learnt the paradoxical spiritual truth-by giving we receive; by offering my inner wealth of unconditional love I become worldly rich and happy. This inner wealth never gets diminished. It creates a flow of inner wealth and it is never dried.
​I am very grateful to my parents for enkindling the light of unconditional love and selfless service in me. That light doesn't get extinguished. It remains steady. Such a light of wisdom shines and keeps me awake. And it is a blessing. May we all walk on the spiritual path. This is my prayer: Let us love unconditionally. Serve selflessly. Keep the inner light shining.

Namaste!
]]>Sat, 03 May 2025 20:33:10 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/there-is-faith-in-humorBased on the article on Awaki.org, here is my reflection:
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Narcism is considered a mental health problem. I have come across a few narcissists who would hold on to the name and fame at the cost of the people who believe in them. Such narcissistic people use others for their selfish gain, power, money and position. How do I deal with such narcissistic people especially when they use their power to exploit people for their benefits? First of all I try to avoid them not to be trapped by the net of selfishness they spread for attaining their selfish goals. Secondly, I make people aware of such persons' intention so that they do not become victims of such selfish and self-centered people. I have seen such narcissistic people even in the spiritual realms. They take advantage of their followers' childlike innocence and faith for fulfilling their hunger for sexual satisfaction and power hunger. Sadly and unfortunately I have seen such "spiritual gurus" exploiting such innocent and naive folks. I have seen little innocent children sharing their toys with other children and offering them as gifts from their hearts with no expectations in return. They teach adults like us the joy and happiness in sharing their things willingly and joyfully. This way we become citizens of the world. It is a movement from 'Me To, 'We' or 'Mewe'. It is like by giving we receive As adults it is our responsibility to teach our children the value and significance of offering our services for the goodness and wellbeing of others who need our unconditional help and support.

Namaste.]]>Sat, 26 Apr 2025 01:02:28 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/end-of-violenceI have always admired reading J. Krishnamurti's talks and writings. He asks us not to close our mind and heart when it comes to reading or listening to something beyond right or wrong by keeping our mind and heart open. Sadly we get caught up in either-or mindset. Like it, then get it, accept it. If we do not like it, throw it away, reject it. We tend to divide the world into right or wrong, either or mindset. However, there is a Middle Path called Madhyama Marga by the Compassionate Gautama Buddha. We have been experiencing divisiveness in the world on the ground of races, genders, religions, beliefs, cultures and ideologies, forgetting that we all are children of God. God treats us equally without any distinctions. Sadly lots of fights and wars have been created by such divisiveness. When we go beyond such harmful divisiveness we experience Oneness in all. If we keep our mind and heart open we experience Divine Oneness in all.
Anger is one of the most difficult emotions to regulate. Anger breaks up relationships. It is compared to poison. It breaks up relationships and destroys our potential to sustain and blossom our human relationships within ourselves intrapersonally, extrapersonally and universally. What sad news! There is a way to cross the bridge of our life amicably, compassionately and lovingly. It is in our hands. I do not believe in creating walls of misunderstandings and relating to oneself and others with these walls. This way we create the Divine Union. May we all sincerely and steadily work on the path of Divinity. How do I relate to this divisiveness and overcome the walls of divisiveness and build the bridge of uni on? I find practicing Mindfulness Meditation regularly very helpful in building and sustaining the bridge of uniting. It is not that easy when the bridge of relationships has become weak or sadly broken. I learned from my parents and other spiritual teachers to work on my mind and heart to build and enrich bridges of relationships. I believe we can do it as I have done it in my life by practicing Mindfulness Meditation daily.
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Namaste. ]]>Sat, 19 Apr 2025 01:48:26 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/the-fish-the-net-and-the-waterBased on the article by Mauro Bergonzi, below is my reflection:

Mystery is to be experienced and not to be solved. Mystery is a holistic experience and it cannot be divided into fragments. It is like love. Authentic and pure love cannot be fragmented and divided. It is like an ocean. It has its wholeness. We may think about love and try to analyze it. When we try to do it, we lose the holistic experience of love. I love to listen to classical Indian music. When I listen to a melodious song my experience is holistic. I listen to a song with my full and undivided attention. I get deeply get absorbed in it. I become music and music becomes me. It becomes a spiritual and mystical experience to me. It becomes a devotional experience, being united with Divinity. My "I-ness" melts away and I become ONE. When I meditate, I also experience wholeness of the soul. All dividing lines go away and I experience oneness. There is a natural state of consciousness. "There is a Sanskrit word for nonviolence Ahimsa. "It means "not'' or " without"; himsa, without violence. This may sound negative, but in Sanskrit a word constructed in this way stands for both perfect and positive. Ahimsa implies that when every trace of violence is removed from the mind, what is left is our natural state of consciousness: pure love. Unfortunately, that love has been buried under layer upon layer of ill will and selfish conditioning. To have love bubble up to the surface of our life, all we have to do is systematically remove all those layers." -Eknath Easwaran Namaste! I bow to the Divinity within you. We become ONE. ]]>Sat, 12 Apr 2025 15:25:03 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/to-pray-without-ceasingBased on the excerpt of the English translation of The Way of the Pilgrim by RM French, here is my reflection:

Prayers are practiced in all spiritual traditions. Why do we pray? Whom do we pray to? How do we pray? How many times do we pray?. When do we pray? Should we all pray? What happens if we do not pray? These are important questions. Prayers can bring people together for attaining a higher purpose or prayers can divide people and bring them down.. These are important questions for me. Prayers are for inner transformation leading to peace, joy and fulfillment, Prayers are meant to bring people together, to move on higher planes of living. Prayers are done to lead to good actions and good actions reinforce prayers. They are inclusive, not exclusive.
My experience of the power of prayer was based on my experience of doing interfaith prayers with Mahatma Gandhi on the banks of the river Sabarmati. I was only five years old but what I experienced was very powerful. People following different paths felt united in their hearts. This powerful experience of interfaith prayers has laid my spiritual foundation. A month ago, we visited Gandhi's Satyagraha Ashram. I felt the same spiritual vibrations as I had experienced when I was five years old. My beloved wife Vanleela had a different religious background. She used to recite Jain prayers and I used to recite Hindu prayers. Different prayers helped us live together harmoniously. Such is the power of prayers. Open-mindedness and open-heartedness bring people together. Hope and pray people of diversified religions join hands and hearts with each other for personal and world peace. This is my prayer.
​Namaste! ]]>Sat, 05 Apr 2025 21:10:50 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/dont-leave-me-raw
Below is my reflection to the thought provoking article by Omid Safi:

The ultimate goal of all religions is freedom, liberation, salvation, moksha. Freedom from self-created bondage, freedom from self-created darkness, freedom from temptations. There are many ways of attaining freedom. Knowing oneself (Gnana Yoga). Freeing oneself from self-created temptations without expectations of getting any personal rewards (Karma Yoga). Path of devotion (Bhakti Yoga) and path of meditation Dhyana Yoga. Follow your own path according to your own disposition. Listen to your clear voice and follow it. Follow your self- chosen path and remain committed. Temptations will come that may take us off our path. We need to discipline ourselves. This will help us stay on our path. Our goal is to keep on walking until we attain our goal. If we have deviated from our path it will make it hard to achieve our goal. It will prolong our journey and we may have to come back on our path until we get fully liberated and be united with the Creator.
My path is the path of Meditation. This path has helped me in many ways: physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally, intra personally and interpersonally. I don't have to listen to others to continue walking on the path. My inner clear voice keeps me walking on my path. When I follow my path consistently and willingly I feel softness in my thoughts, emotions, in my voice and my relationships. When I am off my path I feel change in my thoughts, emotions, feelings and behaviors. When that happens, I slow down, listen to my inner voice and I am back on my track. When I do not listen to my inner voice I feel like I am in a different and strange world, a world of darkness. When I wake up inwardly, I feel awakened and go back to my path. I feel transformed. This is a long inward journey. I love my journey. I call it Yatra- a pilgrimage. I am a life-long yatri. And I am not in a hurry.
​Namaste.]]>Sat, 29 Mar 2025 00:35:13 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/unexpected-strengthHere is my Reflection to a famous story: This article has drawn my attention to the importance of the value of seeing objects, situations, people, relationships and above all my own self. There is a wise saying in Sanskrit: Yatha dristihi tatha sristihi: The world appears as we see it. People, objects, situations, relationships and above my own self are perceived according to my inner mind state: with a clear mind state like the clear sky or the cloudy state. We tend to project our inner world onto our world. Our perception creates the outer world. Our mind, our inner vision is the cause of inner freedom or inner bondage. As the Bhagavad Geeta says: Manaha eva manushyanam karanam bandhmokshayho. As I am advancing in age and as I am getting older, my inner world has been getting more free from the inner bondage I myself have created. I have learned the significance of seeing and relating to people clearly, empathetically and compassionately. The first teachers in my life were my parents. My father taught me the value of mindfulness, awareness and meditation. My mother helped me follow the path of loving people unconditionally and acting selflessly-Bhakti Yoga- Yoga of Devotion and Karma Yoga- Yoga of Selfless Service. It is a path of serving people with no expectation of getting any reward for power, pleasure and prestige. It is a path of non-attachment called Anasakti Yoga. Both of my parents practiced different spiritual paths of living without any conflicts. Growing up this way laid the foundation of my spiritual life and I am very deeply grateful to them. Practicing non- judgemental awareness and Mindfulness Meditation have been very helpful to me for living holistically.
​Namaste! ]]>Sat, 22 Mar 2025 04:28:22 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/we-see-into-the-life-of-thingsBased on the poem by William Wordsworth, here is my reflection:

When our body sleeps, our souls are awake. Body represents our physical self bound by worldly desires. Physical self also represents birth and death. It represents a state of bondage- a state of blindness. It also represents attachment to desires. Our body is the first gift given by the Divine Being. It is up to us how we use this Divine gift. We may use our gift with discretion or without discretion. One way may cause physical problems. Then the body becomes a burden. The same body when used with discretion becomes a source of energy and vitality. It's upto us how we use this divine gift. The second gift is our mind. How we use this Divine Gift is up to us. Our mind may create a bondage or may create freedom, hell or heaven.. We need to make a wise choice. Wrong choice creates mental problems. It also creates emotional problems and relational problems. Like the first gift, the second gift needs to be used wisely. I am very fond of eating sweet food. I have learned the art of living holistically which creates a balance between body and mind. I think both body and mind are Divine Gifts. I am relating to both body and mind with discretion. This is the art of living . It brings harmony and joy in my life. Daily practice of mindfulness and awareness. Mindfulness Meditation helps me to walk on the path of living fully.
​Namaste!]]>Sat, 15 Mar 2025 04:20:12 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/inner-voice-vs-ego-voiceBelow is my reflection to a very realistic article by David Sudar:
Personally I have gone through such a struggle between inner emotional voice and rational voice. One voice says go for it. The other voice says don't go for it. This is a painful and exhausting experience to go through it.
I was experiencing such a conflict in making a choice between getting a doctoral degree in medicine or in education. It was very difficult to make a decision. It was a painful struggle. I decided to spend an hour everyday for meditating until the clouds of inner conflicts faded away completely. My mind became crystal clear. I listened to my mind and heart and made a decision: Go for getting my doctoral degree in Education. I am very happy for making that choice.
​Namaste!]]>