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!

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!