Spiritual Outlook in Daily Life

Millions of years ago, man’s inherent inquisitive nature led him to the discovery that everything in nature worked with regularity and precision and decided that there must be an Infinite force behind it. He documented his experiences in sacred texts and lived by its principles in order to be well fortified with the art of living.

Today, the world has taken great leaps scientifically, yet peace and happiness continues to remain an elusive commodity because man has chosen to violate nature’s laws, live the way he wants and start his spiritual education only at the fag-end of his life.

People are sometimes hesitant to answer when asked if they were spiritual. For most part, they would answer in the affirmative without realizing they were confusing spirituality with religious practices. They mistakenly perceived that knowledge of scriptures & rituals made one spiritual even though they did not apply its lofty principles in their life.

People tend to focus on not what their life is but what it isn’t. You think your life would be better if certain conditions were met and let your dissatisfaction show up about what you think of people and events you have no control over. You will not get anywhere with such negativity and if you base your happiness on things being different than they are currently, you set yourself up for constant disappointment and misery. If you respond to life rather than react to it, you can make a difference between peaceful existence and inner turmoil. Your mind is such a complex instrument that reading philosophy or listening to motivational lectures will not strengthen it unless you incorporate spiritual disciplines in your life.

Spiritual practice satisfies man’s physical, emotional and intellectual needs. You are essentially divine because God resides within you. But your divinity is obscured by greed, lust, anger, jealousy, envy, desire and attachment. Meditation, one of the highest forms of spiritual discipline, will bring out your true nature, control your chaotic thoughts, help you stay detached and maintain equanimity in life’s misdemeanors.

Desire is the core cause of all suffering, closely followed by ego. Meditation helps you transcend these emotions and evolve into a tolerant and composed person. It purges your body of all desires, quite similar to the way diarrhea purges your body. You learn to remain unmoved by pleasure, pain, joy or sorrow and stay calm in the face of any turbulence in your life. You realize that arrogance must be replaced with humility and crookedness with straightforwardness, to be truly at peace with yourself.

Spirituality broadens your mind and opens it wide to all diverse views and opinions. You are able to accept the possibility that there are other perceptions beside your own that are plausible. You stop being judgmental or dogmatic about your views and become empathetic to other people’s pain. You are no longer looking outward for answers to life’s questions. You look within and take responsibility for your actions. You realize that true spirituality lies in listening more, understanding more and reflecting more.

Own Up Your Mistakes

 

Perhaps, one of the toughest things to do in life is to say, “I’m sorry, I was wrong.” Most people are extremely reluctant to admit their mistakes for fear of being ridiculed or mocked. Sometimes, your ego is the impeding factor to stop you from owning up your mistake. Your ego is large enough to obscure your sense of fair play and you find yourself unable to even accept the possibility of having erred. It is a rare breed of person who confesses or offers a sincere apology.

It is this inability to express regret that is the root cause of most human strife in our society. Misunderstandings, conflicts, uprisings and wars are the by-products of the actions of unrepentant nations, societies and individuals. Unrepentant and unforgiving nature costs human lives and totally destroys the fabric of societies on the whole.

Expecting forgiveness from others because you believe it is not your fault is tantamount to a potter blaming the wheel for shaping a misshapen pot. Even though the mistake may not be totally your own, you have, in a subtle way, either through your reaction, action or inaction, played your part badly. Taking responsibility or owning up that you were not entirely blameless, will avert major catastrophes that could lead to a potential disastrous situation.

You are so eager to change others though you will not budge from your ways or beliefs about anything. Examine your inner self and look at situations from others’ perspective and weigh the pros and cons before deciding on a course of action. Expand your mindset and radiate happiness to everyone around you

Measure Success with Internal Well Being

When you look back in your life to analyze your achievements and measure your success, you will discover it is hard to decide what your successes are because your understanding of success changes as you get older.

As a young person, you are fired with enthusiasm to achieve success in earning money, fame, recognition and approval. When these basic needs are fulfilled, you become aware of other needs taking over in your mind, like love and relationships and you struggle to succeed in maintaining them. Finally, at the fag-end of your life, you are prepared to give up all material comforts in order to succeed in attaining self realization, leading to inner peace.

To sum up the entire gamut of your life, there is a hierarchy of desires, starting from the lowest level to the highest, that can measure human behavior. The lowest level deals with fulfilling physiological needs such as food, shelter, clothes and sex. Arrogance, conceit, pride and envy are by-products you end up with, when you succeed this level. The next level is psychological needs like love, fame, confidence, status, prestige, reputation and social acceptance and the highest level is the need to acquire self realization through contemplation and meditation.

Your behavior depends on the degree of emphasis you place on any level in the hierarchy. Over indulgence in the lowest level will cause you to lose out on other levels. Pursuing a career and material comforts only, will cost you your family and friends as well as internal well being and harmony. Balance and achieve your objectives, using right conduct and fair means. Real success is achieved only when your mind is free of inner turmoil and conflicts

Grandparents - They are the smartest and the most wanted too!

 A friend sent me the article shown below. It is an old one and has been doing the rounds since long. But it is funny and still so relevant and true.

 GRANDPARENTS ANSWERING MACHINE

Good morning . . . At present we are not at home but, please Leave your message after you hear the beep. beeeeeppp .... If you are one of our children, dial 1 and then select the option from 1 to 5 in order of "arrival" so we know who it is. If you need us to stay with the children, press 2 If you want to borrow the car, press 3 If you want us to wash your clothes, press 4 If you want the grandchildren to sleep here tonight, press 5 If you want us to pick up the kids at school, press 6 If you want us to prepare a meal for Sunday or to have it delivered to your home, press 7 If you want to come to eat here, press 8 If you need money, press 9 If you are going to invite us to dinner, or taking us to the theater, start talking we are listening!!!!!!!!!!!"   WHAT IS A GRANDPARENT? (Taken from papers written by a class of 8-year-olds) Grandparents are a lady and a man who have no little children of their own. They like other people's. A grandfather is a man, & a grandmother is a lady! Grandparents don't have to do anything except be there when we come to see them They are old they shouldn't play hard or run. It is good if they drive us to the shops and give us money. When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars. They show us and talk to us about the colors of the flowers and also why we shouldn't step on 'cracks.' They don't say, 'Hurry up.' Usually grandmothers are fat but not too fat to tie your shoes. They wear glasses and funny underwear. Grandparents don't have to be smart. They have to answer questions like 'Why isn't God married?' and 'How come dogs chase cats?' When they read to us, they don't skip. They don't mind if we ask for the same story over again. Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don't have television because they are the only grownups who like to spend time with us. They know we should have a snack time before bed time, and they say prayers with us and kiss us even when we've acted bad. GRANDPA IS THE SMARTEST MAN ON EARTH! HE TEACHES ME GOOD THINGS, BUT I DON'T GET TO SEE HIM ENOUGH TO GET AS SMART AS HIM! It's funny when they bend over; you hear gas leaks, and they blame the dog.

Snore or a Roar?

Snoring has earned the dubious honor of breaking relationships and I can understand why. My husband snores….loudly and no, we have not separated. People say you will not snore if you sleep on any one side. But I beg to differ because my husband snores on any side although I have not been able to figure out how his snoring stops, albeit momentarily, the minute I touch him. Men rarely admit that they snore and believe that women are lying when they say otherwise.

I suppose everyone snores but volume is the key. Some people snore very softly and it is not so loud as to disturb their partner/spouse. But there are others that can wake up the dead with their snoring. Some of them end up waking themselves up.

Snoring can be cured provided you are able to find out the root cause of snoring. Neglecting to treat the problem can affect your sleep and ultimately, your health. You will become irritable, tired and moody and your productivity at work will also suffer, not to mention your productivity at home.

Snoring occurs when the soft palate situated behind the roof of your mouth, vibrates during sleep. When you lie on your back, your tongue relaxes, falls back into your mouth and obstructs smooth breathing.

Age, physique, sinus, heavy weight, smoking, alcohol and medications are some of the causes for snoring. It is normal to snore as you get older because your throat becomes narrower and your throat muscle loses its tone. Men with narrower throat, enlarged adenoids and a cleft palate snore more. Besides, sinus and blocked nasal passages make it hard to breathe in air smoothly, on account of which there is a vacuum in your throat, leading you to snore. 

Men snore more than women because men generally have larger jaws with more room behind their tongues, due to which the tongue falls back more and obstructs breathing when they are sleeping deeply, as opposed to women with smaller  and slightly recessed jaws, due to which there is less room for the normal sized tongue to fall back.

Some tips to stop snoring are to change your position while sleeping, lose excess body weight, stop smoking and drinking alcohol, keep your bedroom air moist (dry air can irritate your nose and throat), avoid eating a heavy meal, especially dairy products, just before going to bed, as they may build up mucus in your throat and block your nasal passages. Avoid drinking too much caffeine.

Regularize your sleeping patterns. Put a couple of drops of melted warm ghee (clarified butter) in both your nostrils in the morning and before bedtime. Ujjaye breathing in yoga is very effective to strengthen your throat and treat snoring as well.(read Pranayam – Yogic Breathing for Your Body and Soul). 

If you are suffering from adenoid or any other chronic allergic respiratory problems, then you must get treatment for that. Clogged nose may force you to breathe through your mouth. Practice ‘pranayam’ (yoga breathing exercises) for a complete clearing up of all respiratory blockages.

It would be a good idea to use an anti-snoring mouth guard that will bind your teeth together in order to prevent your jaw muscles from relaxing too much. Elevate the upper part of your body as opposed to keeping your body flat on the bed. Prop your head and shoulders over pillows to reduce pressure and prevent your tongue from flopping back.

I have heard some people say that playing the didgeridoo (a musical instrument made out of a long, hollow log that gives out a low and deep musical rhythm) can help in strengthening your jaw and throat muscles. It may sound strange but you could try the didgeridoo or any other blowing musical instrument like the saxophone.

  man playing the didgeridoo

I recall a funny incident that happened years ago, when I was at school. My uncle (my father’s brother) is a terrible snorer. The funny thing about him is that he would snore only after he went to bed at night and not during his afternoon nap. A selective snorer. He would hit the bed around 10.30 pm and by 11 pm, his snore would resonate around the room. It was an enviable imitation of a steam engine just pulling out of the platform. Another odd thing was that, although he would be up the next morning by 7 or so, his snoring would stop a couple of hours before he got out of bed, at 5 am itself.

One day, my father had the misfortune of sharing a room with him. He had barely started to close his eyes when my uncle started snoring. My dad spent the entire night tossing about trying to sleep through the loud roar. 

At last morning came. It was nearly 5. My dad tiredly pulled himself out of bed to get ready to go to work when he realized that my uncle had stopped snoring, although he continued to sleep, blissfully unaware of my dad's darkening face. My dad was so furious that he shook my uncle awake and shouted, ‘How dare you stop snoring now after keeping me up the whole night. You better keep on snoring or I’ll choke you’. 

My uncle, poor man, woke up, still groggy with sleep, wondering what the noise was all about. He peered up at my father through half closed eyes and grumbled, “What is going on? Why did you wake me up? I hardly slept a wink last night. Did you know that you snore? ”