Spoken Words Are Free - Should We Take Them For Granted, or Value Them?

Satsang by Gautam Baiji

"As humans, it's our responsibility to help other people.

But you might say, "I don't have enough money to give to too many things."

You don't need that - you have your voice.

If you have a nice voice, you can sing and other people will feel good. 

You can also say good words to give peace to others. 

Some words are like medicine, and some words give warmth.

Saints say, "Remember the Holy Name." But Swami Vivekananda was asked why he always said that. 
In reply, he said a bad word.
Some people got mad. "How can you say this word? You are a saint!" 
He said, "Sorry." Immediately they calmed down. 
"I said one bad word and your temper quickly flares high, then I said 'sorry' and you are quickly calming down."

This is the power of words.

Our saints say, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

So what is that word? Words can bring happiness, and words can bring sorrow and pain.

But we don't give them much value because they are free. Free things are not much valued by us. We don't see the value behind the gift.

Maybe we can try to do that."

The Ashram is "One of the Greatest Gifts" - Reasons People Come to the Ashram

Why do you come to Divine Art of Yoga Center ashram?

Nishma: The goal of achieving spiritual or self-awareness can feel like climbing a mountain for many; but what I’ve learned throughout my years with the baijis is that it’s not the destination that matters, it’s the journey. As Buddha once said, “Each Morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most." If we make our goals simple and work on them daily; our goals become much more reachable and life becomes very fulfilling, that is true self-awareness. Baijis are living examples of this; each day they impart wisdom, spiritual skills and above all… love to all the patrons of the Ashram. It is their limitless love and guidance that has steered me through even the darkest times in my life. What makes the Ashram different than any other spiritual or religious place that I have experienced is that everything is focused on teaching you how to achieve bliss here and now. In a society that is ever changing and becoming more and more media and fear driven; self-awareness and true satisfaction are the most invaluable gifts we can give to our children. The Ashram gives kids a place to nurture these values and instills a sense of self within them from a young age. Life is full of trials and tributes; but I truly feel that having Baijis in my life and being able to appreciate all that they have to offer has been one of the greatest gifts that I have been offered in this lifetime.

CD Shuffle - Satsang

Satsang from Baiji, including some content she added later:

"Once there was a CD with many songs on it.

That CD met another CD, who also had many songs.

They got married.

The next morning, one CD started playing a song.

The other CD played a different song.

Both CD's are coexisting, but it's very challenging when they're playing different songs at the same time.

After one year, there is another CD, a third one.

The first CD thought, “Now this is the time! This CD is blank, so I will fill it with whatever I like.”

The #2 CD thought, “This is the time. I married CD #1 and couldn’t do anything there... now I have the chance to fill the new one with whatever I want.”

But when they tried, they found the third CD was already recorded. There was no space available. The new CD was already full.

How did this happen? Nobody did anything.

We don’t know where it’s been before it came to us.

Just like our souls - the lives we lived before are unknown to us. They gave us our personality, our preferences, our karma. 

What is the age of our clothes? One month, or two years perhaps?

There is another “cloth” we wear; our body. How old is that?

30, 40, 50, 60, 70+ years?

This is the age of our “clothes.” The first layer, 1-2 years. The second layer, 40 or 80 years.

But what is our actual age?

WHO were we before this birth?

Whoever we were, perhaps those parents recorded onto our CD – they already filled it.

Before that birth, the other parents filled it.

All the time we spend trying to fill the "child" CD, wondering, why doesn’t it match us? 

As parents, we think our children should listen to us, to act according to what we say, but it's good to remember their CD has already been filled.

(One lady said she loved rice pudding, but only the last part at the bottom of the bowl, which she liked to lick. Because of that, she thinks she was a cat in her last life.)

There will be disturbance if all CD's are playing at the same time. We need to let everyone play their song, one at a time, to fully appreciate them. Every one has a different meaning that will benefit us all."

Lest We Forget, Here is What Love Is:

To the Point

This Love is Rare

Rinse and Repeat

Words of Love

I Promise to Water You Daily

Unconditional

Fear = False Evidence Appearing Real

 

Watch this guru's video (96 seconds) to learn how we are gripped by fear... and how we can dispel it.

Hint: our overactive imagination tends to create negative future possibilities that don't exist, or we will mis-remember something from our past, shackling us to a negatively dominating interpretation of an event that already occurred.

Here are some more helpful fear acronyms:

F.E.A.R. = Forget Everything and Run
F.E.A.R. = Fighting Ego Against Reality
F.E.A.R. = Forgetting Everything's All Right
F.E.A.R. = For Everything A Reason
F.E.A.R. = Frustration, Ego, Anxiety, Resentment
F.E.A.R. = Fearing Everything's Awful Real
F.E.A.R. = Finding Excuses And Reasons
F.E.A.R. = Frantic Effort to Avoid Reality
F.E.A.R. = Forever Escaping And Retreating*
F.E.A.R. = Fools Every Alcoholic Repeatedly*

*Popular with A.A.

So the good news is if we're loving in the moment, we're not fearing. All we have to do is be in charge of our thoughts (made easier with yoga and meditation) and keep love alive inside of us.

A Good Reminder - The Four Agreements

As readers of this blog have heard, yoga and meditation make many spiritual principles easier to live moment to moment. It just comes with the territory.

I enjoy being a part of an ashram that does not adhere to one belief - a good idea can come from anywhere - and ultimately we are all after the same things (I don't need to tell you, smart reader, what those things are).

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz is one of those wonderful books that distills how to live a good life to a few practical principles.

They can help us detect where there's friction in our life that needs attention. They may prompt questions, like:

• Am I not doing my best, and if not, why?
• Have I lied about something, or am I lying on a consistent basis?
• Does someone consistently irritate me? Am I taking it personally because their behavior is something I don't like inside myself?
• Am I constantly assuming negative things? What do I get out of engaging in gossip or drama instead of just loving people without judgement?

And while you're working on these, treat yourself to some yoga and watch all four get a LOT easier.

Peace and love!

Yoga Isn't Just Stretching

What If?

Rumi Doesn't Waste Words

You Can't Love Without Giving

Give Until it Feels Good

  

If you’re the type who likes to give, I don’t have to tell you the benefits that come from that.

Particularly if you have a skill or a gift that benefits the community in some way, everyone is missing out until you share it.

At the ashram it’s fun to see people’s talents put to good use, from the electrical engineer who plays and teaches tabla, to the mortgage manager who makes the best homemade salsa (which she sells, then donates to Nepal relief).

There are some wonderful cooks who alternate providing dishes for the Sunday afternoon meal after satsang; there are naturopathic practitioners who can cure your neck and back pain on the spot using pressure points; even harmonium lessons are available upon request.

And where would any community be without computer experts? We have several. One person makes patterns for dresses and saris. Another is particularly handy overall, rooting out mechanical and other problems with appliances. 

Obviously there are excellent yoga and meditation instructors, as well as pranayama (breathing techniques for good health). There’s that person who writes a blog that celebrates this community… 

And there are many others who give in ways big and small that no one knows about. They don’t need thanks, but I acknowledge them here anyway.

Givers know that the reward is instantaneous if you’re doing it out of love. “If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:3)

I was recently introduced to “seva,” a Sanskrit word that means “selfless service” or work performed without any thought of reward or repayment. In ancient India seva was believed to help one's spiritual growth and at the same time contribute to the improvement of a community.

Sounds perfect.

Live and Love

My mother-in-law is in hospice care.

She didn't reach this stage suddenly. We're sad, but relatively prepared (my children, less so). She's hasn't remembered very much for some time, and now she simply cannot stay awake for visitors, so we mostly just sit with her in silence while she sleeps.

I feel sad for my family and myself, of course.

And I can't help but contemplate my own mortality. 

Especially when friends around you are experiencing their own pain over a sick loved one.

I have a dear friend who has a sister in ICU. She is very, very fragile.

I wrote about a couple I know who lost a grandchild recently.

We don't have all the answers. Sometimes all we can do is just be with it, which is made easier with the love and support of our family, caring friends in our community, and whatever faith we have.

None of this new to humanity, of course, but it's new when it happens to us. At least one message is always the same and never gets old: life is fragile, so live today, in the present. Live now, because tomorrow may not come.

Live, and love.

What Does Namaste Mean?

I can't add much more to that, except...

Namaste.

And this:

After all, how can you "namaste" someone without loving them?

Some Fortunes You Keep