Bucky on Humanity, Integrity, and Transcendental Meditation

Here is a remarkably inspiring session between Mr Buckminster Fuller (Bucky) and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi where they talked about the universal basis of the life of individual and cosmos.

The basis of this exchange:

Bucky said he first started to explore the untapped faculties of the human mind in 1927, which is when he first began investigating meditation. However, he was not impressed with what he learned because he concluded people were meditating for their own personal advantage, rather than to help the world.
Bucky’s impression changed dramatically 44 years later when he met Maharishi at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

It came as a great delight to me in meeting Maharishi to learn that he, in his studies, had discovered that in the very earliest recorded thinking in India, that the meditator was exploring these faculties … on behalf of his fellow man.

And Bucky revealed the “great news” of the time:

What is really news is that there have people contemplating and isolating themselves for thousands of years, not apparently trying to bring the advantage to the many except in mysterious ways. I am sure what has made Maharishi beloved and understood is that he has manifest love. You could not meet with Maharishi without recognizing instantly his integrity. You look in his eyes, and there it is. 

I would like to say to the news media that the great news is that America has its arms open for the truth, love, tenderness, compassion, and the only way we can know the truth, is through our mind. And the world is demonstrating in this wave of inspiration by Maharishi, its yearning and its determination for humanity to survive on our planet. 

Very deep forces are operative here, the forces of the great intellect of the universe itself. This is the news. It is not easy to report this kind of news, but this is the news.

Watch these videos for more of the exchange.



It takes quite an effort for me to understand fully the exchange between Bucky and Maharishi, both are Enlightened Masters. Perhaps, someone can help explain more to me in the comment section. Thank you in advance.

And again, in the simplest term, what transpire is love and love is all that is real, as taught in A Course in Miracles.

"Love does not conquer all things, but it does set all things right."
- Excerpted from A Course in Miracles

Know Thyself

Have you try any personality tests? 

I have tried Myers-Briggs Personality (MBTI) and Dominance-Influence-Steadiness-Conscientiousness (DISC), Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI), Audio-Visual-Kinesthetic and even some animals categories - Hare-Tortoise-Owl-Squirrel. I have also done my Enneagram test 2 months ago and re-did my DISC profile (And I got different profile result this time). In Enneagram, I am called a Four - The Individualist from the nine personality types. Below is one of the reminder note for me as a four.

The overall keynote of Fours is subjectivity. In order to keep their sense of self alive, Fours need to have a personal and emotional resonance with their experiences. They therefore "take everything personally," and for better or worse, often invest meaning or find intention where there is none. Notice today when you are taking everything personally. 

Thus, this is my favourite prayer to help me when I am taking things too personally until it hurts:

Dear God, please help me. This is it. Right here. There is where the sword enters my heart. This is where I blow it every time. 

I read occasionally what it tells about my Greek Zodiac (I am an Aries) and Chinese Zodiac. Recently, I also have my BaZi profiling done on my career and relationship. BaZi tells me when are the years I most likely to find my pot of gold or find the right man to have a relationship. It seems I need to be a bit more patient for both.

Now, I wonder how much I traverse the road of knowing myself. 

How many more tests out there that are attempting to tell us more about ourselves but also put us in different categories?

If there is only one certain distinction that any test can tell for me, I would be categorised to those who always need to find out about things. (Now, you can take a guess at my DISC personality). Sometimes I feel I am taking it too broad, may be shallow. Sometimes, I think I am diving too deep. I am constantly curious - I accept that fact. I am really passionate about learning. I feel alive when I am gaining knowledge and become wiser.

But I found the more I learn, the more I know that I know nothing. Okay, that came from Socrates. It is a proof that wisdom and generalised principle can really transcend space and time. I am talking about what Socrates believe more than 2000 years ago is still applicable up to these days. It certainly resonates with me and I think it does with a lot of people.

Perhaps when we meet a divine and transcendent guru, and we ask him questions, most probably we will NOT get direct answers. A lot of things are neither black nor white. A lot of things are not set in stones. It comes from where we are looking at it. A Course in Miracles says Only Love is real. All others that are negatives are just illusions. And we are surrounded by illusions until we surrender to love. And I just learnt from Money and You program that Clarity Leads to Power. I know now that no matter how complex things are, there are always some generalised principles that govern everything.

I do not need to know everything to know all things.

I think I am getting it. Things are getting clearer for me. I am really starting to know myself. I don't really know it, but I can feel it.

How about you? What do you think? Do you know yourself?

Marianne Williamson on Relationship, Creativity, Leadership, and Divine Compensation

I hope I would look as gorgeous, fabulous and healthy as Marianne Williamson at the age of 61. She emanates wisdom and vitality. She is not afraid to speak fast or to wave her hand passionately - perhaps attesting to being peaceful does not mean you cannot be passionate as well. She advocates love, and an avid student and teacher of A Course of Miracles (ACIM).

There are 3 resources that I would like to share with you, my fellow reader:

1. Her "Return to Love" book, a classic.

I have a copy of this book "A Return To Love" by Marianne Williamson. Those who had looked at my worn and crumpled copy would think that I did not value it. But I love this book. And that is also why I carry it around and re-read it whenever I can.

Its lesson is very powerful. It reminds me to surrender, to forgive, to focus on now, to heal, to let go of fear and ego, to be peaceful and most of all, to love.

While its most famous quote is "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.", I really like the myriad of prayers offered in the book, especially in the times when I deviate from love.

Dear God, please help me. Heal my mind. Wherever my thoughts have strayed from love - if I've been controlling, manipulative, greedy, ambitious for myself - whatever it is , I'm willing to see this differently.

Dear God, you know, and I know, that I have more potential for neurosis in this area (relationship) than in any other. Please take my attraction, my thoughts and feelings about this person and use them for your purposes. Let this relationship unfold according to your will.

Dear God, let me see this person through your eyes. 

Dear God, please help me realize that I am someone wonderful. 

Dear God, please help me. This is it. Right here. There is where the sword enters my heart. This is where I blow it every time. 

Dear God, I surrender this situation to you. May it be used for your purposes. I ask only that my heart be open to give love and to receive love. May all the results unfold according to your will. 

2. Another powerful interview on relationship

There is a interview with Marianne Williamson on the topic of Shifting within our
relationship. You can access here in this link.

She touched on holy-isolation, in which two parties who separate can mean that the physical proximity is no longer the highest container for their mutual soul growth, and this is not a failure in relationship. Relationship is eternal - our bodies separate, minds are eternally connected. And it's our own path that we're asked to vigilantly monitor, not someone else's. This actually rings well with the teaching of Ho'oponopono.

3. Her video lectures.

Below is a video on YouTube where Marianne discuss on creativity, leadership and divine compensation at GoogleTalk. More video lectures can be find on her official website.

At around 35th minute, one of the audience brought into discussion about a belief that our actions do not really matter; what matter is our consciousness. Marianne was obviously quite appalled with that belief - It does not matter what we do? With 17 thousands children and 15 thousands adults starving to death everyday and billions of people living on $1.5 or less a day, there are so much things we can do.

Yes, spiritual study does not mean we just sit around, clear our consciousness and meditate. It also means to take action to give love. Namaste.

Miraculous Relationship Meditation

A few friends said they do not like meditation because they are impatient or some even feel the moment of quietness is actually more stressful.

I am still learning how to quiet my mind. Thus, I usually opt for guided meditation because at least my mind can concentrate on a thought. It is easier than not thinking at all.

Join me in this meditation of Miraculous Relationships - a journey designed to increase the peace, joy and well-being in your life.

Registration free at www.chopracentermeditation.com. Namaste.

A Course In Miracles

The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love’s presence, which is your natural inheritance. The opposite of love is fear, but what is all-encompassing can have no opposite. A Course in Miracles, T-in.1.

Are you feeling homesick?  A place where you run free and feel loved ...?

Have you lost your way to your kampung?  A heartfelt place of laughter and kindness ...?

Are you ready for the day-to-day systematic practice of happiness?

(For Miracle Mondays at Zest Cafe, Bangsar South, check it out here.)

If you’re ready ... this is the Course.  It’s the way to your kampung, where you can leave all your anxieties to return to a place of inner peace and joy. 

A Course In Miracles is a self-study day-by-day guide to practice right-mindedness thinking.  At the end of the Course, you will realize that happiness has just slipped your mind.  Now, it’s calling you to remember ...

All the Course asks of you is an open heart, an expansive mind and the willingness to be vulnerable.  First of all, let yourself be fully committed to happiness.  To fulfill your wish to experience miracles, you are required to read the Course on your own.  And to get you started, commit yourself to three sessions of blissful learning, facilitated by Chee Wah, today.  

These three sessions, each 2 hours, will include:

Session #1: What the Course says? - an introduction to the 669-page Text.

Session #2: Why 365 lessons? - an introduction to the Workbook for Students

Session #3: Who are Teachers? - an introduction to the Manual for Teachers.

ABOUT THE FACILITATOR: THAM CHEE WAH

In 2001, Chee Wah joined the Novitiate Program as a Buddhist monk with the objective to understand the balance of body, mind and soul.  A few years later, he came across A Course In Miracles and started a journey of self discovery by reading two pages of the text each day and practiced the 365 lessons from the Workbook for Student.  Committing to a discipline, one day, two pages and one lesson, he managed to complete the Course in one year.  To have a deeper understanding, he started from page one all over again.  Since 2005, he continues to read the Course regularly. 

By request, he starts to share the principles from the book and practices its philosophy of right-mindedness thinking.  Opportunities knocked.  Doors opened.  He was invited to speak at many seminars and conducted various workshops based on the Course.  In 2008, he began penning his thoughts and authored the book “Invite Freedom Home - Creating A Meaningful Life and Live Life with Passion”. The book is the #1 Bestseller on Popular Bookstore’s Self-Enrichment category.  

Why I want to commit to the Course?  By Susan Lim

I have a lot of questions about inner peace, love and happiness.  I immersed myself in the teachings of the Law of Attraction as popularized by “The Secret” and “Abraham Hicks”, learnt Neuro-Linguistics Programming (NLP) and Hypnotherapy, Buddhism and a variety of self-development materials.  But somehow I still find myself in the dark trying desperately to look for directions and a sense of purpose in life.   I am fearful of almost everything: old age, immaturity, failure, mediocrity, having insignificant dreams and even fear of not achieving my dreams at all.   Constantly, I dreaded the idea that I’ve either not loved or I’ve not been loving enough.  I am just paralyzed with fear.

I first heard of A Course In Miracles when I read Marianne Williamson’s Return to Love.  I know I have to explore the Course and that is when I stumbled upon inspire.fm.  It was such a delight to know that locally, in Malaysia, Chee Wah is teaching the Course.  Immediately, I know I need to reach out to him to help me understand the Course.

I hope through ACIM and the generous sharing from Chee Wah, I can discover what my fear is and to find my inner peace, love and happiness.

DETAILS:

Organized by: TalenCloud

Contact Person: Call/SMS Susan Lim

3 consecutive Mondays:

12, 19 and 26 August, 2013

7.45pm to 9.45pm

Venue: 

Menara Mutiara Bangsar

8-0-13 Ground Floor, Jalan Liku

Off Jalan Bangsar

59100 KUALA LUMPUR

Your Contribution:

RM30 per person per session

**There will be practice of silence from 7.45pm to 8.00pm.  Do be punctual.**

To Forgive, Divine

A little soul approached God and said “I know who I am.”

God said “That’s wonderful? Who are you?”

And the Little Soul shouted, "I'm the Light!"

God smiled a big smile. "That's right. Very good! You are indeed the Light”.

Little Soul pondered for a while and then said “I know I am the Light. But I really want to experience who I am, God”

God remarked “But you are you. There is nothing to experience.”

Little Soul said “But I really want to experience myself. To know myself.”

“What do you want to know yourself as?” God asked.

Little Soul was quiet for a moment, and then exclaimed “I really want to know myself as Forgiveness. Hey yeah! That is what I want to know myself as. Forgiveness is special. I really want to be forgiving.”

“But there is no one to forgive.”, God pointed out. “Everything is so perfect here.”

Little Soul is sad. But just then a Friendly Soul approaches the Little Soul. “Hey, I’ll help you”

Little Soul said “You will? How?”

Friendly Soul said “Let’s go down to the earth. We’ll be born. And I would do something so horrible to you, so awful and you will forgive me. And then you can know yourself as Forgiveness.”

“That’s wonderful. It’s incredible. You do that for me? Wait a second. You are a being of such utter perfection! You, who vibrate with such a speed that it creates a Light so bright that I can hardly gaze upon you! You are so light that you dance upon the stars and move through the Kingdom with the speed of your thought. What could cause you to want to slow down your vibration to a level where you can come out and do these horrible and terrible things?”

"I would do it because I love you." said the Friendly Soul. “The only thing is you need to promise me one thing.”

Little Soul said “Anything you want”.

"In the moment that I strike and smite you, in the moment that I do the worst to you that you could possibly imagine ~ in that very moment, just remember Who I Really Am."

"Oh, I will!" cried the Little Soul, "I promise! I will always remember you as I see you right here, right now!"

"Good," said the Friendly Soul, "because, you see, I will have been pretending so hard, I will have forgotten myself. And if you do not remember me as I really am, I may not be able to remember for a very long time. And if I forget Who I Am, you may even forget Who You Are, and we will both be lost. Then we will need another soul to come along and remind us both of Who We Are. And we will be doomed to repeat it, over and over again, until we get the lesson."

This is such an amazing and awesome story which touches on the possibilities at some level we may have chosen even the worst circumstances in life for a grander purpose.

And I honestly and heartily thank all the Friendly Soul out there! I know who you are inside. I know your origin and intention. Thank you for lowering your vibration and stooping yourself so low so that you can give me this opportunity and experience to forgive divinely.

Food for thought:
1. Do you believe the possibilities at some level we may have chosen even the worst circumstances in life for a grander purpose?
2. Have you embrace the belief of "You are the cause for all the effects in your life"?
3. Have you have known happiness if you never been sad, to find you are in the light without ever being lost in darkness, to forgive if there is no one who hurt you and also if you have never receive forgiveness from someone you have hurt before ?
4. Is there anyone in your life that you find it hard to forgive? Maybe more than one? Do you believe they might be the Friendly Soul who had sacrificed themselves to try to help you experience who you want to be?

The story is adapted from The Little Soul and the Sun, by Neale Donald Walsch
 http://www.sapphyr.net/largegems/littlesoul-thesun.htm

The Most Amazing Human Being is Me (and You too!)

I am super ecstatic and enthusiastic today. Why?

I just completed my 3-days fruit diet for my detox program. Yes, I survived only on fruits and fruit juices for the past 3 days. No coffee also, just green tea. The only thing that slipped was 4 meagre pieces of biscuits which I took on first and second days. That’s all. I am so proud . I am strutting with joy.

And today, I am free. I dived into my breakfast and lunch with strong waves of appreciation and gratitude.

I feel like an ingenious Goddess, fearless Warrior and vibrant Vixen. And I feel the strong urge to tell the world about this.

Seriously?

Yes.
Who need to be self-effacing, when my power, charm, capabilities and abilities are so divine and sublime?

Okay, now I went overboard with my self-praise. ** LOL **

Food (Yummy!) for thought:

1. Have you given yourself enough credit that you deserve?
2. Do you know how awesome and fabulous you are?
3. Need a reminder every day?
   Subscribe to this http://www.tut.com/ and you will start receiving encouraging message from the Universe every day.
   Believe me, I look forward to the email every single day. They are the elixir for my soul!

This is my first powerful message from The Universe which prompt me to subscribe to the mailing list. A blessed and blissful serendipity, indeed!

For all things and non-things that you may ever want, Susan, understand that sometimes the fastest way to get them is to forget them, and to focus instead on just being the most amazing human being you can be. At which point all of your heart’s desires, spoken or unspoken, will be drawn to you more powerfully than a magnet is drawn to steel.

Who would you be without your story?

“I am confused and saddened by my family because they judge me.”

“So, parents should not judge their children. Is that true?” Katie, a 60-plus-years-old soft-and sweet spoken woman, asked Justin who had started “The Work”.

“Oh, Gosh.” Justin murmured as he realized he could not answer yes, despite the strong urge to prove himself right.

“Can you absolutely know that’s true?” Katie asked the second question.

Justin paused in incoherence and finally admitted in a low voice “No”.

“And the job of a parent, the job of everyone in this world is to judge. That’s our job. Everything is a judgement. Give me a thought that is not a judgement. It is a sky. That is a judgement. It is what we do. Parents should not judge their children. What is the reality? Do they?”

 “Yes.”

“That’s their job. How do you react when you think that thought? My parent is not supposed to judge me.” Katie continued her third question.

“It weakens me. I felt terrified.”

“How do you treat your parent when you think that thought? I want you to stop judging me and they do it.” Katie probed further on her third question when Justin was at loss of words.
“I rebel and become distance.”

“Honey, this is insanity. People should stop judging people. What planet do you think you are on?!” Katie dramatized on purpose. The audience laughed. “You come to planet earth, you judge. That’s it!”

“Who would you be without this thought - I want my parents to stop judging me?” The fourth and final question from Katie.

“I will have inner peace.”

“So, honey, turn it around.” The final step in "The Work".

“I am confused and saddened because I judge me.” 

“There is another one.” Katie urged Justin.

“I am confused and saddened by me because I judge my family.”

A final revelation and Justin confessed softly but firmly “Yes”.

Katie continued with her explanation “I strike a deal with you. When you stop judging them, then go talk to them about judgement.”

"That’s true."

“When you stop doing what you want them to stop doing, let’s talk. Maybe a while. I stop judging that my parents should stop judging. Now, read the other one.” Katie instructed. 

Justin started on the second item in his list he had written down “I want my family to be who they are and not limit their love and attention….”

“They are who they are,” Katie interjected, “They limit their love and attention and they judge.”. Everyone in the audience seemed to be laughing by then. Justin laughed and affirmed “Okay.” He knew he was "defeated" in his judgement and his needs to be right, but he felt relieved and lighthearted. He began to grasp “The Work”.

Byron Katie is not a therapist, counselor or religious leader. Through her work, which she simply called “The Work” teach people to end emotional suffering. She instructs people to write down their troublesome thoughts and then start the 4 questions and turnaround process, like what she did with Justin.

And then you will gain the insight from Katie:

Reality is not going to wait for your permission. No, you lose.
Arguing with “what is” is like teaching a cat to bark. Hopeless.

I discovered that when I believed my thoughts, I suffered, but that when I didn't believe them, I didn't suffer, and that this is true for every human being. Freedom is as simple as that. I found that suffering is optional. I found a joy within me that has never disappeared, not for a single moment. That joy is in everyone, always” 

And these are from her website:

Who would you be without your story?

The Work of Byron Katie is a way of identifying and questioning the thoughts that cause all the anger, fear, depression, addiction, and violence in the world. Experience the happiness of undoing those thoughts through The Work, and allow your mind to return to its true, awakened, peaceful, creative nature.

I am intrigued by Katie’s work after listening to her audio program. It is very therapeutic and enlightening. She also claimed “The Work” can help us to forgive 100%. 100% is a big achievement and a huge breakaway. So, I tried that. I am still not sure if it works that well. I probably need to do more work.

But I do find the turnaround powerful. For those who are angry with others  “I am angry because she is so selfish” turnaround into “I am angry because I am so selfish”. Aren't we all selfish? We are, in varying degrees. For those who experience unrequited love - “He/She should love me” become “I should love me”.  Welcome to the world! Nobody owes you anything, so nobody should do anything for you unless they really want it. It’s not your job to like me – it’s mine, as Katie put it.

And for answering the powerful question such as “Who would I be without my stories?” I need to define that as those limiting beliefs, those things about other people that I cannot change, and those critical and belittling voices.

My answer: I will be more carefree, confident, passionate, peaceful, positive, loving and enlightened.

Sounds good to me to discard my stories. Start with a clean state. Forgive 100%. Move forward, lighter and merrier.

So, who would you be without your story?

Image credited to http://www.everypathis.org/