Find The Source Of Ego

THE SPEAKING TREE

Find The Source Of Ego

Sheodan

Meditation is deliberating on the thought process and bringing it to a focal point. Some go for total thoughtlessness. The other way is to focus between the eyebrows to see the light of Brahmn. Chanting of a mantra is another way to do meditation. Ramana Maharishi of Arunachalam said that one should search for self-identity by asking: “Who am I?” In meditation one should ask this question and with gradual evolution find calmness and peace.
The question really means, what is the source or origin of ego? To find the answers you need to be free of attitude. Give up the bhavana that you are the body related to name, profession, region, language and other such acquired identities. There is no need to have an attitude about your real nature. It exists as it always has. It is real. Some ask that does not the enquiry “who am I?’’ turn out, in the end, to be an empty question?
Self-enquiry is not done in vain. It is more than the repetition of a mantra. If the enquiry were a mere mental exercise, it would not be of much value. The very purpose of self-enquiry is to focus the entire mind at its source. It is not one eye searching for another eye. Neither is self-enquiry an empty formula, for it involves an intense activity of the entire mind to keep it steadily poised in pure selfawareness. Until one realises that state of pure being, the enquiry should continue. By gradual evolution in this state, it is possible for one to get permanently established in the state of self-awareness. The state of self-awareness is termed as sat-chit-anand or total bliss.
Be what you are. Lose your ego. You cannot run away from yourself. Maharishi said, reject all other thoughts and persist with the enquiry “who am I?” As per Maharishi’s formula, if you keep raising the enquiry “who am I?” many thought waves will get to disappear with the enquiry.
Self-enquiry leads to knowledge of Self. One is aware of the Self even though the Self is not objectified. When you say you do not know the Self, it means absence of related knowledge because we are so accustomed to relative knowledge that we always look for same. Because of this the goal of Self- realisation appears to be distant.
Feel yourself dismantling the false i that is ego and establish yourself in the real i and the answer to the query of “Who am I?” becomes evident. To gauge progress on the journey of Self-realisation see the degree of absence of thoughts. Self-realisation itself does not admit to progress. The obstacles are thoughts. Progress is measured by the degree of removal of these obstacles.
With self-enquiry you go to the source of these thoughts and this enquiry removes that source of thought. This process will remove all doubts and finally peace will prevail. This way we will be able to say that Self-realisation is that which is peace. All that we need to do is to keep quiet.
Peace is our real nature. By realising the Self you can easily call yourself divine. Ahambrahmnsmi or “I am Brahmn” can be felt in word and spirit. Those who realise the Self are called saints. The journey is not difficult; it is achievable. Just meditate on the question: “Who am I?” and you will eventually find the answer.

Courtesy TOI

Other book from Ramana Maharshi

http://www.highermeditation.com/ebooks/who_am_i.pdf

http://www.arunachala-ramana.org/downloads/downloads.htm

choose, I chose ..

Choose to be happy,
Choose to feel great,
Choose not to let things make you irate.

I know that some people are not feeling great,
And I know that some people just know how to hate.
And I wish that all people could be healthy and strong,
And I wish that all people would just get along.

If wand could be waved, and the world would be cured,
I’d wave that big wand, you can be assured.
But I’ll do what I can every day I am here,
And try to remember “the good”, day to day, year to year.

And I chose to be happy,
And I chose to feel great,
And I chose not to let things make me irate!

@

gratitude and appreciation: ... choose, I chose ...

installing love ...

Tech Support:
Yes, ma'am, how can I help you?

Customer:
Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install Love. Can you guide me through the process?

Tech Support:
Yes, I can help you, are you ready to proceed?

Customer:
Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What do I do first?

Tech Support:
The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart ma'am?

Customer:
Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are running?

Tech Support:
What programs are running ma'am?

Customer:
Let's see, I have Past-Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge, and Resentment running right now.

Tech Support:
No problem, Love will gradually erase Past-Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory, but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of it's own called High Self-Esteem. However, you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off ma'am?

Customer:
I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?

Tech Support:
With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have completely erased.

Customer:
Okay, done, Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?

Tech Support:
Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.

Customer:
Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error-program not run on external components. What should I do?

Tech Support:
Don't worry ma'am, It means the Love program is set-up to run on Internal Hearts but has not yet been run on your Heart. In non-technical terms, it means you have to Love yourself before you can Love others.

Customer:
So what should I do?

Tech Support:
Can you pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files: Forgive-Self; Realise Your Worth; and Acknowledge Your Limitations.

Customer:
OK, done.

Tech Support:
Now copy them to the "My Heart" directory. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.

Customer:
Got it. Hey!!! My Heart is filling up with new files. Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is this normal?

Tech Support:
Sometimes. For others it takes a while, but eventually everyone gets it at the proper time. So Love is installed and running. One more thing before we hang-up, Love is FreeWare. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with others and return some cool modules back to you.

Customer:
I promise to do just that. Thank you for your help!

Tech Support:
You're very welcome.

From face book @ gratitude and appreciation: ... installing love ...

Stress: Seven steps to an inner calm

Stress: Seven steps to an inner calm

The Times: (Andy Puddicombe) Just seven steps, implemented each day can help you find your way to peace and tranquility

Take 10 minutes out each day

This is a simple, basic meditation that is best done at the start of the day. Find a quiet place where you can sit without being disturbed.

Take a couple of deep breaths and close your eyes. Become aware of your senses: the feelings in the body, the sounds and the smells around you.

Don’t think about them, simply notice them.

Next become aware of the breath.

You don’t need to breathe in any special way, just notice how the rising and falling movement of the breath feels in the body. Each time the mind wanders, gently bring it back to that same point of focus — the rising and falling sensation of the breath.

Make it a daily exercise

A bit like learning any new skill, meditation works best when you do it regularly and often. It doesn’t have to be at the same time every day, but you may well find it easier to stick to this way.

Be conscious of what you’re doing

We live on auto-pilot, especially when we do things that we have done thousands of times before — brushing your teeth or drinking a cup of tea, for example.

Choose just one of these activities to be fully conscious of each day.

Rather than let the mind wander off into worrying, planning or thinking about things, notice what it feels like to actually drink a cup of tea. What does it taste, feel and smell like? It’s amazing how much we miss because we are simply lost in thought.

Resist the urge to control the mind

When we first become aware of the constant chatter of our thoughts, we try to “stop thinking”, which is impossible. Focus instead on being at ease with whatever is happening in the mind. If it’s busy, OK, it’s busy. Resist the temptation to try to control it. If you feel irritated or upset, that’s just how it is sometimes. Don’t fight it. Let thoughts come, acknowledge them and let them go. By allowing thoughts and feelings to flow in this way, they are usually much more short-lived.

Shift the focus from ‘me’ to ‘you’

Have you ever noticed that the more you focus on your own problems, the bigger they seem to get? Take a moment to reflect on those people close to you who might also be having a tough time with things right now. How are they feeling? This simple exercise helps to put your own difficulties into perspective and to develop empathy and understanding towards that other person.

Ease off the gas

If you look at the best sportsmen and women, they seem to play with a sublime lack of effort. Roger Federer, the tennis player, is one of the best examples of this. Trying harder does not mean performing better — often it’s just the opposite. By approaching everyday activities in a slightly more relaxed and measured way, things not only will become more enjoyable, but also will be done that much better.

Take practical steps

When life becomes so busy that you hardly have time to breathe, it’s unrealistic to expect a lot of headspace.

If it’s possible, try to simplify life a little. Look for ways to reduce the amount you’re doing, or ways of doing it more effectively. Similarly, if you have lots of thoughts racing around your mind, take a couple of minutes to write them down. This can help to free up the hard drive, and at least give a feeling of additional space in the mind.

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Article printed from Wildmind Buddhist Meditation: http://www.wildmind.org

URL to article: http://www.wildmind.org/blogs/news/stress-seven-steps-to-an-inner-calm