Words are powerful

[Preety_India]

I wanted to tell myself certain things. Specific things. 

Things that are important to me. 

I want to believe in those things. 

 

[Preety_India]

I pray for anyone who is going through or living through bad things. 

And I hope that they escape whatever they are trapped in. I hope for them to escape the situation as soon as possible. 

No one should have   to go through suffering ever. Breaks my heart into a billion pieces. ??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 4, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

Looking into the mirror is a powerful process as a therapy 

 

Words I need to say to myself 

Look in the mirror and speak to yourself.. What do you see. 

 

Empower yourself 

 

You deserve better 

 

In real life there is no wolf. You have to be the wolf. 

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Edited August 4, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

 

 

 

[Preety_India]

I need to start believing in positive affirmations. 

 

[Preety_India]

 

 

 

 

Dissolving Mind Shafts

We talked about Mind Shafts here.

So how do we dissolve these mind-shafts? Dissolving mind shafts can be practiced simply and easily as we go about our day. At the end of the day, when we find that conditioned thinking has labeled the day as a bad day or a stressful day or a depressing day, we can review the day in our mind, and make mental notes of three types of thoughts which caused that label to be applied.

Identify the actual emotions we’re feeling (i.e. sadness, anger, whatever the predominant emotion is, in the current moment). = Emotion

Note the labels that conditioned thinking has applied to the emotion (frustrated, mad, defeated) . = Label

Note the story that is keeping that emotion and label in place (things should/should not be like this). = Mind Story

Identify the actual situation, independent of the label, or the mind story, or the emotional reactions to the label and mind story. =Reality

Examples:

Conditioned thinking says “today was a terrible day!”

1. We notice the actual emotion.

(Example: sadness.)

2. We notice the label, the evaluation.

(Example: Terrible day )

3. We identify the mind story.

(Example: “he should not be so harsh and judgmental”)

4. We recall the actual situation (reality), independent of the evaluation (label) and the mind story, or the emotional reactions to the evaluation.

(Example: Father spoke in a loud voice to us.)

Several important realizations can occur, every single time we make use of this technique, and it can be used effectively in any moment there is a sense of disturbance (i.e. stress, uncomfortable emotions, uncomfortable thinking, etc.)

1. We notice that conditioned thinking has globally labeled our memory of the day in a certain way (“globally” meaning: the concept of “entire day” has been evaluated and judged to have had certain qualities), and we notice that emotions have arisen, based on focus on the labels which support conditioned thinking’s conclusion (“terrible day”). There were actually many non-terrible moments during the day, but attention focuses on the thought-labels which support conditioned thinking’s conclusion.

2. We notice that the emotional reaction is always to the label; the evaluation and mind story; reaction is never to a fact. Mind-shafts are shafts made by focus on the mental and emotional reactions to the labels generated by conditioned thinking. Mind-shafts are a closed-loop of conditioned thinking which are utterly independent of the actual situation. If the facts of a given moment are labeled differently, the reaction of conditioned thinking is different, and the conclusions of conditioned thinking are different. “One person’s heaven is another person’s hell”, as the old saying goes.

To one person, “father speaking loudly” might be an everyday event; an event they are used to experiencing; and therefore, an event their conditioned thinking doesn’t evaluate in a way that sadness is the reaction.

To another person, “father speaking loudly” might not be considered harsh or judgmental, just his style of speaking.

To yet another person, anger could be the emotional reaction instead of sadness.

To another, momentary disturbance might be felt, based on specific conditioned thinking, but the evaluation about the conversation isn’t connected with any label about the nature of the entire day.

And so, realizing this, we can notice: reaction is never to a fact, but only to evaluation about facts.

Now, if it was a bad day or a “feeling down day”, we can consciously remember the moments in the day when we felt happy. This is the gap which breaks up, or dissolves, our sense of having had an otherwise bad day.

For instance, maybe we enjoyed some morning tea; or maybe we smiled at someone or someone smiled at us. Maybe we laughed at a joke, or saw something that made us smile. Maybe we enjoyed a favorite song, or show, even for a few minutes, and so on. Remembering these pleasant or enjoyable moments, we can realize that these moments break up the imagined “continuous shaft” of unpleasant memories of each day.

We can identify these moments that don’t fit into the labels/mind stories creating a sense of “low day”, and then break the day up into bite-sized memories of happiness and bite-sized memories of sadness or other “low” or “down” feelings. Doing this, we can thereby realize that the lows aren’t all connected, and that it wasn’t really a “low day”, after all. Rather, it was a day comprised, as all days are, of a fairly full spectrum of thoughts and feelings, both pleasant and unpleasant.

We use up a lot of physical, emotional and mental energy (hence the physical, emotional and mental fatigue, which we call depression) in connecting the conditioned evaluations which create the sense of lows. Conditioned thinking then takes these mind-shafts and connects them, in order to make an imaginary mind-shaft of “one big low.” This isn’t to say, by the way, that depression isn’t an actual medical condition; it certainly is, as many of us know. Our purpose here is to uncover some of the dynamics which magnify depression, and artificially hold it in place. Depression is not a natural condition; it results from a combination of mental habits, and/or related biochemistry. When the causes of the mental habits are seen through, they dissolve. When these conditioned mental habits dissolve, they no longer increase any depression-related biochemistry.

And so, dissolving depression-related mental habits, while doing things that dissolve depression-related biochemistry (such as exercise, engaging in spiritual practices, connecting with people, medication and so on), combined with the genuine, honest desire to be free from depression, can and does free one from depression. Realizing this, we can come to see a fundamental, empowering fact: stepping free from depression is within our power, and the means to do so is freely available.

We start out with small things,; simply observing that the day is made up of moment by moment by moment, and that each moment is free of the previous (memory) and next (imagination), and that reaction is never to a fact, only to evaluation, will help us in dissolving these mind-shafts. And, amazingly, we’ll find that when all this artificially constricted energy is freed and allowed to flow naturally, that thinking mind naturally rests.

At first the shaft may be imagined to be years long.

For instance, conditioned thinking displays the thought:

“I have been suffering from depression for 10 years.”

Well, with some simple observation, we can see that the depression we felt 10 years ago, and the one we felt 5 years ago, and the one we experienced 6 months ago and the one we experienced a week ago, are not the same. We connect these and make it one long imaginary mind-shaft. In fact, if we are willing to remember any such time-frame honestly and accurately, we can see that any given time period had almost as many,  or in some cases, more moments which were experienced as happy, or at least acceptable, in comparison with depressing moments.

And, so to dissolve these shafts, we can go back and identify the moments when we were not depressed. We can remember how we enjoyed a party or a movie or a vacation or a night out or a book or a trip or a job, and thereby see how these happier moments broke up the imagined “10 depressed years”. And so, the single shaft of 10-year-long depression is now broken into smaller “bite-sized” memory-shafts of depression. It no longer is a huge monster, but rather, a series of manageable “little monsters” that bothered us, over the course of 10 years, a time period that was happily interspersed with “little angels” of happiness, peace and enjoyment at times, too.

Then, we’ll try to break up the current day; maybe break it down to half a day. Then as we keep identifying these breaks in the day, moments when you are not feeling low, a miraculous thing will begin to happen. Half-days will refine to hours, hours to minutes, minutes to seconds, and we’ll experience the reality that each moment of life, perhaps a second or two in duration, apparently, is utterly independent of the previous moment and the next moment. Ten seconds ago is every bit as dissolved as ten years ago. Ten seconds from now “hasn’t happened yet” as much as ten years from now “hasn’t happened yet”. It is all happening now, in reality.

The second technique is actually finding the gap (which is experienced as silence) and living from this gap. This is a more advanced technique and worth trying, if however it seems impossible to do, let it go for now.

Related Lessons

Living Unbound Teachings:

Mind Shafts

Living Unbound Resources:

Living Unbound Q&A: Meditation and Depression

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You need to be shown compassion. You need to be rescued. You need to be freed. You don't need judgement. 

You need to be motivated. You need to be built up. You need to be build, not criticized or made to suffer or sacrifice. 

 

 

[Preety_India]

Right now I was thinking about mental shafts. 

The good mental shafts and the bad mental shafts. 

How I need to cultivate good mental shafts and how I need to dissolve bad mental shafts. 

[Preety_India]

I will use colors to specify these mental shafts. 

Blue for a good mental shaft. 

Red for a toxic mental shaft 

 

Green for a more moderate space where certain things are tolerated in order to create good out of them eventually, for example certain bad experiences are also lessons in life. 

 

Positive mental shaft 

 

Toxic 

 

Moderate 

 

Edited August 4, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

 

Are you Empowering yourself in this moment? 

 

 

[Preety_India]

 

God is like a mirror

It is easier for a camel to pass through a needle than a rich man to get heaven 

When on the judgement day I will go to God, I will have a pure heart and no impurity in my heart, I will have a clean soul because I did nothing wrong, at least I lived as a good person even though I suffered greatly, my heart will be lighter than a feather. 

There was once a rich man who was told to donate and he donated a coin while a poor woman had just 2 cents and she donated it all. She had a bigger heart than the rich man. 

I hate society. 

Because it looks down on people who are weak and timid and who are suffering. 

F them 

People who you perceive as weak are only weak in your eyes, not in the eyes of God. 

People who you perceive as ugly as ugly in your eyes, not in the eyes of God. 

People who you see perceive as victims and worthless are worthless in your eyes, not in the eyes of  God. 

You see people who are successful smart and opportunist as great. In God's eyes they are lower. And you see people who are weak and struggling as useless as a failure, but in the eyes of God they are higher. 

 

A doctor doesn't go to heal the healthy, but he goes to heal the sick. 

God doesn't think much of those who are strong and petty, he looks after those who are weak. Because in your eyes they are weak, but in God's eyes they are precious. 

You as a society forsake them. God accepts them. 

Because in God's compassionate heart, weak people have a special place. 

God has a special place for the victims, for the persecuted and for the sufferers. 

God sides with the victim not with the perpetrator 

Saints tell people to go help the poor, heal the sick, they don't tell people to heal the healthy and help the rich. 

When you show judgement to a victim and sufferer instead of showing compassion, it's you who is wrong not the sufferer 

Who says that you shouldn't help the weak and the suffering and how is it wrong. 

Only the one with the big heart can show compassion and help the desperate. 

There is manhood, a certain Valor in helping the one in distress. 

And why does society say this bullshit all the time that you should ask for help but when you actually ask for help, they look down on you for reaching out. How is reaching out for help a bad thing. If your own fellow people can't help you then who will.. 

But precisely when they are dead through their suffering the same society raises the question why these people didn't ask for help. But when they did ask for help, they were shamed. 

That's the hypocrisy 

There is a greater place in heaven for those who are victims, sufferers and those who were persecuted. Because they endured  too much, they are a brave heart. 

God celebrates and embraces the struggles of the sufferer and the weak. Because in our weakness lies our strengths.. God glorifies the ones who are deemed as failed. He glorifies their failures.. What society considers as a failure, in his eyes its a glory. 

Strength does not lie in boasting about strength. That's not real strength. Strength lies in helping the weak. God is strong because God's strength comes from helping the weak. His divinity comes from showing compassion. 

Today's world feels like a Kaliyug where the good will lose and evil will win. 

But God doesn't accept your idea of victory. 

For God, the good has always won

You think that some shallow person is beautiful. Maybe beautiful in your eyes. But there are people that are considered ugly in this world. God sees their inner beauty even if you don't, because you don't have God's eyes. God thinks they are very beautiful and those that the world calls beautiful, God sees them as nasty. God can see the shallow in them 

God is like a mirror in this world. He doesn't tell you what is right or wrong. He only shows you the outcome of your actions. If you look in the mirror, you will see who is responsible for destruction, and that is man, not God.. God only shows you the mirror. Through the mirror God wants you to know the right way of living. God shows you your shadows, your flaws, the actions of humans and their consequences. 

Everything happens on purpose. The reason why someone is given superficial beauty but not a good soul, the reason why a real person has courage but the fake one doesn't, the reason why the victims have more power than the Victors, the reason why the tables turn and you get caught up in your lies. God does all this on purpose to show you a mirror, God wants to show you the truth through the mirror, in everything that you see in this world there is a truth. 

Why is a person who has ego destroyed by his own ego. Because there is a truth in it. That ego destroys people.. 

God has hidden a truth in everything. And through the interplay of cause and effect, God reflects this truth back to us 

God honors the one who honors the truth. 

God wants us to embrace the truth and live by it. Because God wants us to be uncorrupted by the seeds of evil that the devil has planted everywhere. 

God uses the mirror to awaken the soul in you. So that your heart can be  lighter than a feather! 

 

[Preety_India]

 

Words by Allama iqbal

Khudi ko kar buland itna ke har taqder se pehle

Khuda bande se khud pooche bata teri raza kya hai.

 

Words by Jigar Muradabadi 

इरशाद

हमको मिटा सके ये ज़माने में दम नहीं... जिगर मुरादाबादी

 

हमको मिटा सके ये ज़माने में दम नहीं 
हमसे ज़माना ख़ुद है ज़माने से हम नहीं 

 

बेफ़ायदा अलम नहीं, बेकार ग़म नहीं 
तौफ़ीक़ दे ख़ुदा तो ये ने'आमत भी कम नहीं 

मेरी ज़ुबाँ पे...

मेरी ज़ुबाँ पे शिकवा-ए-अह्ल-ए-सितम नहीं 
मुझको जगा दिया यही एहसान कम नहीं 

या रब! हुजूम-ए-दर्द को दे और वुस'अतें 
दामन तो क्या अभी मेरी आँखें भी नम नहीं 

ज़ाहिद कुछ और...

ज़ाहिद कुछ और हो न हो मयख़ाने में मगर 
क्या कम ये है कि शिकवा-ए-दैर-ओ-हरम नहीं 

शिकवा तो एक छेड़ है लेकिन हक़ीक़तन 
तेरा सितम भी तेरी इनायत से कम नहीं 

मर्ग-ए-ज़िगर पे क्यों तेरी आँखें हैं अश्क-रेज़ 
इक सानिहा सही मगर इतनी अहम नहीं

Translation 

 

क्यों तेरी आँखें हैं अश्क-रेज़ - अश्क-रेज़ is shedding tears. 

 why are you shedding tears. 

इक सानिहा - one incident 

मगर इतनी अहम नहीं - not that important 

 

मर्ग-ए-ज़िगर - marze jeegar, my wounded heart. 

शिकवा तो एक छेड़ है लेकिन हक़ीक़तन 
तेरा सितम भी तेरी इनायत से कम नहीं  - I'm complaining just as a tease, but  the reality or truth is that your cruelties aren't any less than your grace. 

Actual translation 

 

By verse 

 

हमको मिटा सके ये ज़माने में दम नहीं 
हमसे ज़माना ख़ुद है ज़माने से हम नहीं 

There is no force yet born in this world that can destroy me, I'm not by the world, the world is by me

बेफ़ायदा अलम नहीं, बेकार ग़म नहीं 
तौफ़ीक़ दे ख़ुदा तो ये ने'आमत भी कम नहीं 

Knowledge is not useless, grief is not in vain, if God is with me  (figurative - if his grace is on me) , then even this little wealth I have is no less

 

मेरी ज़ुबाँ पे...

On my tongue. 

 

 

मेरी ज़ुबाँ पे शिकवा-ए-अह्ल-ए-सितम नहीं 
मुझको जगा दिया यही एहसान कम नहीं 

On my tongue, I don't have many complaints against your atrocities, the fact that you woke me is a favor enough 

 

या रब! हुजूम-ए-दर्द को दे और वुस'अतें

दामन तो क्या अभी मेरी आँखें भी नम नहीं 

वुस'अतें - this word should have been मुसीबतें

Oh Rabba, oh God , give this innocent crowd, give my innocent
 folks or sheep more difficulties, forget my garment, even my eyes aren't yet wet with tears. 

The figurative meaning is - give me as many challenges as you can. I can take them. What you have given  is not even enough yet. 

 

 

ज़ाहिद कुछ और...

Whatever may 

 

 

ज़ाहिद कुछ और हो न हो मयख़ाने में मगर 
क्या कम ये है कि शिकवा-ए-दैर-ओ-हरम नहीं 

Whatever may, It doesn't matter if nothing comes of this  hardship, is it any less that there are no complaints even in a Tavern. 

Figurative - whether I achieve or not, it doesn't matter, isn't it not enough that I don't complain even when I'm drunk. 

 

शिकवा तो एक छेड़ है लेकिन हक़ीक़तन 
तेरा सितम भी तेरी इनायत से कम नहीं 

Me complaining is just a tease but the truth is that  your cruelties aren't any less than your favors. 

Figurative - don't mind me complaining God. But if I have to be honest with you, you are as much cruel as you are good 

 

 

मर्ग-ए-ज़िगर पे क्यों तेरी आँखें हैं अश्क-रेज़ 
इक सानिहा सही मगर इतनी अहम नहीं

God, why do you shed tears at my wounded heart, leave it be, I know this just an incident, not that important. 

Figurative - God, don't waste your tears on me, my existence never mattered anyway. 

 

Edited August 5, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

 

My prayers 

I'm going to be writing some prayers here.. I always wrote prayers as a child. I still carry that habit. 

 

These prayers will have some powerful words to inspire me and the world. 

Since I'm a theist and a believer in God, they will words like God, faith etc. 

Some of the prayers will be just spiritual, like Buddhist prayers with no God references. 

 

Prayer 1 

Oh God,

When you are with me, I have nothing to worry. 

You are my pillar, my strength and my hope. 

 

Edited August 5, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

 

What I have realized through my observations is that human society has both evolved and devolved 

 

For example, in terms of new technology we are definitely making a lot of progress 

 

 

 

But the progress that I see today, I will call it Stage Green and Stage Orange progress. 

I believe that every stage is equally important in overall development and should be equally integrated within the self, and not just higher stages. 

And I also believe that every stage has a higher stage in itself. 

For example the beige stage is about survival. 

So I can divide the Beige stage into several levels 

Like Beige stage level 1

Beige stage level 2

Beige stage level 3

Beige stage level 4

Beige stage level 5

Beige stage level 6 

And so on 

What people generally do, they just jump from one stage to the next and call it progress. Of course it's progress to be at a higher stage,but it's only a fraction of overall progress. 

Overall progress means progress through the stages upwards, that's vertical but also progress within a stage, that's horizontal.. 

I will call this 2 dimensional progress. 

Which means not only do I want to be at stage Green but I also want my stage Beige to be stronger. 

The stage that is demonized. 

Stage Purple. 

 

I think stage purple always gets demonized. It consists of rituals and superstitions and people living in tight groups like tribes. 

Now, it's not all that bad. Certain practices and rituals are linked to the supernatural. 

Some purple stage people come up with unique ways of healing which are never documented in conventional medical practices. 

The thing is when we demonize a stage and shun it, we miss out on these things. 

But if we considered progressing horizontally within a stage, we can see some value offered at this stage that can help us get a better understanding of reality and find new opportunities for exploration and growth and improvement. 

 

Edited August 5, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

I think honing stage purple beliefs and skills will help us understand the realm of supernatural a little better. 

That's why I believe that each stage not only needs transcending but progression as well. 

Because a stage green scientist might try to devalue such concepts that arise from stage purple. He may discard such theories and concepts. 

So yes as a species we are making progress on the stage Green level. 

But we aren't making progress on stage Purple level, in fact we are devolving on Stage purple instead of evolving. We are trying to suppress lower stages instead of unmasking their deeper truths. 

This is like we are trying to increase our cognitive efficiency meanwhile completely ignoring and or even suppressing our basic instincts. It is good idea to sharpen our intellect and higher qualities but how is it fair to pursue intellectual qualities in lieu of the basic physical ones. 

One shouldn't replace the other. 

Cognitive thinking shouldn't override or replace basic instincts. Because instincts are just as important as logic. 

The idea is here amalgamation. 

Fuse both. Integrate both. Develop both. 

So a truly well aware multi dimensional person would focus on sharpening both basic as well as higher skills. 

 

 

[Preety_India]

I think that when you have a problem in life, it's not always because of a physical reason, it could also have spiritual or supernatural causes. And along the same line, it can also have spiritual and Supernatural solutions. 

 

[Preety_India]

The other insights that I had today were related to prayer and spiritual life. Or devotional life 

 

One insight was that "it comes full circle.." 

What this means is that everything in life, both good and evil comes full circle. 

The Swan and the wolf come full circle. 

 

 

And the other insight was that one door closes then another opens. 

That supernatural forces can open doors that were closed  up until now. 

 

 

Doors need to be opened. Only the supernatural has the key to the secret door. 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

Why is evil necessary. 

Evil is necessary for good to sustain. 

A lesser evil has to exist to suppress greater evil. 

Edited August 5, 2020 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

So I'm laying down multiple reasons why evil is so necessary 

 

1. Evil creates greater good. For example because slavery existed, we realized that slavery was wrong and there was a need to get rid of slavery and create a greater good for the future.. Now we don't need to worry about slavery about slavery because this evil has already been fixed 
2. So evil is necessary in an evolutionary context to create immunity against it, to afford protection in the future. 
3. God uses evil to show the mirror to humanity 
4. Evil helps us appreciate good, glorify good. Like diamonds in the  rough 
5. Evil helps us come closer to the truth. That truth lies in good. God wants us to come closer to truth and live in truth. He can only lead by experience and example 
6. Evil helps in growth. Good grows out of evil when evil is defeated. 
7. Evil acts as a sacrifice. Someone gets sacrifice for humanity to learn a lesson 
8. More evil gets destroyed every day but new evil also gets exposed and eventually we become liberated of the new evils as well. 
9. We grow by defeating new enemies every day. 
10. Evil helps in future survival and evolution because with experience of evil we learn how to deal with the enemy. 
11. Only through evil we understand why good is important. Thus we understand the purpose of good. 
12. Evil is like crucifixion of Christ. It teaches us valuable lessons on what we need to learn and what we need to eradicate. 
13. Certain evils exist to beat other evils. 
14. Evil brings good closer to Purity. That is good becomes more good in the presence of evil out of fear and the need to grow, it is pushed closer to Purity and transcendence to higher realms in heaven 
15.  

[Preety_India]

 

The path to cardinal virtues 

 

Now.. 

I believe that only one path is true. And that path leads to the truth and that path leads to God.. 

And I believe eternal beauty and true beauty resides in God. 

And courage is a spiritual quality, almost divine. 

And courage means the ability to defend truth and stand with truth therefore in the eyes of God, courage is to be elevated to glory. 

But what about compassion, empathy, love, generosity, manhood, righteousness and justice 

 

I'm trying to create a trinity here out of main virtues. 

But there are several virtues. 

One way for me to think of cardinal virtues would be to segregate them. 

As masculine and feminine like I did in Swan witchcraft. 

Masculine virtues that I will pick are. 

Truth, courage, and justice 

Feminine virtues 

Compassion and  love, and manhood and righteousness. 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2020 by Preety_India

[Artsu]

We have free will, so before our love is complete, we almost inevitably do evil sometimes. Some choose to do it a lot. So it is an inevitable thing rather than necessary i think. I could be wrong.