Sifting through some old papers yesterday, I came across this lovely piece; most of us will identify with both speaker and listener.
Listen
When I ask you to listen to me and you start giving advice, you have not done what I ask.
When I ask you to listen to me and you begin to tell me why I should not feel that way, you have trapped my feelings.
When I ask you to listen to me and you feel you have to do something to solve my problem, you have failed me, strange as that may seem.
Listen! All I ask, is that you listen, not talk or do – just listen and hear me.
I can do for myself! I am not helpless. Maybe discouraged and faltering but not helpless. When you do something for me that I can do for myself, you contribute to my fear and weakness, but when you accept as a simple fact that I do feel what I feel, no matter how irrational, then I can quit trying to convince you and get about the business of understanding what’s behind this irrational feeling and when that’s clear, the answers are obvious and I don’t need advice.
Irrational feelings make sense when we understand them.
Perhaps that is why prayer works sometimes for some people because God is mute and he doesn’t give advice or try to fix things. He just listens and lets you work it out for yourself. So please listen and just hear me and if you want to talk, wait a minute for your turn and I’ll listen to you.
Author unknown
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Work more, Buy more
I was flicking through a health magazine last week while I waited to go in for an appointment and came across an inspiring article. The focus for the piece was the ‘work more, buy more’ modern life style and how an increasing number of people are consciously moving away from this way of living. The shift in thinking stems from a realization that more ‘things’; latest entertainment systems, phones etc don’t always provide more happiness and having to work so hard to earn the necessary money to buy these is very stressful.
It’s something I can identify with after the TV blew up a while ago and I started looking into buying a new one. When I thought about it seriously I realized I hardly ever used it and what I really would value, enjoy and benefit from was an extra weeks holiday this year. It’s made me think of the importance of standing back in situations and asking myself ‘What do I really want here?’
It’s something I can identify with after the TV blew up a while ago and I started looking into buying a new one. When I thought about it seriously I realized I hardly ever used it and what I really would value, enjoy and benefit from was an extra weeks holiday this year. It’s made me think of the importance of standing back in situations and asking myself ‘What do I really want here?’
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
Courage and Honesty
I heard a lovely story at the weekend about my nephew. It was his first day at school and his parents asked him how it went. ‘Hari c-r-i-e-d’ he said (he doesn’t use I or me yet). Then the mite went on to give his folks a demonstration of how he had cried at school. Showered with lots of hugs and kisses he settled down for his afternoon nap.
Hearing this little snippet nearly brought tears to my eyes, when I look around and see the damage our conditioning has caused us as adults; after a bad day we’re more likely to open the refrigerator door and stuff our feelings with food, drown them in alcohol or send them up in a puff of smoke. This little child could answer his parents question with ruthless honesty, without feeling any embarrassment, in doing so, much of the stress and anxiety he experienced on his first day at school would have been released. What would happen if we could tap back into the honesty and courage we once possessed as children and communicate from that place more often?
Hearing this little snippet nearly brought tears to my eyes, when I look around and see the damage our conditioning has caused us as adults; after a bad day we’re more likely to open the refrigerator door and stuff our feelings with food, drown them in alcohol or send them up in a puff of smoke. This little child could answer his parents question with ruthless honesty, without feeling any embarrassment, in doing so, much of the stress and anxiety he experienced on his first day at school would have been released. What would happen if we could tap back into the honesty and courage we once possessed as children and communicate from that place more often?
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Seeing Spiritual Auras
An aura is the subtle energy field surrounding every living being. This energy appears in the form of different colours depending on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual state of an individual at any moment in time. This article is about how you can learn to see auras and be inspired by the more mystical aspects of those you interact with and meet on your life’s path.
Some people associate seeing auras with psychic or clairvoyant powers, for me it’s a little more down-to-earth than that, mainly because I learnt to read them while working in a bank during my student days. It all started when our line manager brought in a newspaper cutting of an article on auras and thought it would be good fun for us to learn how to read them. We learnt quickly but weren’t always sure if what we were seeing was real or imaginary, so being the bright sparks we were, we hit upon the idea that we would all read someone’s aura at the same time and then write our answers down on a bit of paper along with our name and fold it up. Once all the papers were gathered together they could be opened and we could get some idea of the accuracy of our readings. The results were startling; our team of seven all saw the same colour, then we knew we were onto something.
Over the years I’ve had some interesting encounters with auras. While on my travels abroad I met some Gursikhs in Singapore and we had a great time doing experiments. One evening I read the aura of one of them - it was a combination of blue and purple which indicates spirituality and intuition and was positioned around the top of his head. We then all went for a Rainsabai Kirtan and early next morning he was keen to have his aura read again to test if it had changed in any way as a result of hearing the Kirtan. It was fascinating to see the aura was now around his throat and much larger than before, he confirmed his focus for the preceding hours had been on the ‘singing’ of Gurbani as opposed to his daytime routine of thinking about it. So changes in activity as well as mental and emotional state are directly reflected in the colour, location and size of the aura.
The steps for reading an aura are quite easy. All you need is a pale background such as a white or cream coloured internal or external wall against which to stand your subject, with you stood in front of them at a distance of about 10 feet. Ask them to relax by taking some deep breaths and if you notice any signs of muscle tension - around the shoulders for example invite them to relax there, at the same time calm and ground yourself too. After a minute or so you are ready to begin your aura reading. As you look at the person, begin to defocus your eyes so you are more aware of the things in your peripheral vision than the details of the person. Continue to hold attention in your peripheral vision and quite quickly you should be able to see a centimetre or more of colour as a kind of cloud around the outer edge of the persons head and shoulders. It’s a very quick process taking a maximum of 3 to 4 minutes. Practising with others helps because you can compare readings and overcome any ‘is it real or am I imagining it?’ kind of responses. Some people don’t see a colour but they can sense a colour and this way of reading auras works just as well.
Here’s a brief run down of the main aura colours as I have experienced them:
Purple, blue, white and gold represent spirituality, intuition and sensitivity. Electric blue indicates a gift to communicate through telepathy. Pink is the colour of a person who can love unconditionally. Orange speaks of a strong, sociable, outgoing person who is eager to explore life. Yellow is about someone who is optimistic, happy and easy-going, it often appears with green.
Green is about healing oneself or possessing the ability to heal others. I saw this colour on the front of a friends shoulder one time, when I enquired if she had an injury there she told me about her sporting accident and how she had just come from a massage appointment. Having the massage would have promoted healing in the affected area giving rise to the green coloured aura around that part of her body.
Red means lots of focus and energy. Once my sister came home from work and after dropping her bag in the hallway she came straight into the lounge and closed the door behind her. As she stood there against the white of the door I saw a disc of red colour right on the top of her head. I asked if she had been concentrating a lot that day and true enough she’d just come out of an awful meeting which had lasted for hours and had required lots of focused thinking.
Black auras reflect bad intentions or actions. I’ve only ever seen one and despite the outwardly friendly, helpful demeanour of the person, I chose to go with the darkness of the energy surrounding them to inform my decision not to pursue further professional dialogue. A couple of years later I read a story in the local press about the same person, who had been convicted for assaults against women dating back to the time when I saw the black aura.
Sometimes you don’t need to ‘read’ a person’s aura by getting them to stand against a light background and defocusing your eyes etc. the aura is just there, clearly visible. Here‘s an example. I was coming out of a shopping centre once accompanied by a dear friend, as we walked down the steps to the pavement below, two Buddhist monks in their saffron coloured robes passed by quickly in the lunch time crowd. They had the most astonishing auras I have ever seen – electric blue and one foot tall around the tops of their heads, it was a case of ‘follow those monks!’ Sadly we lost them in the crowd. I still wonder sometimes, what kind of spiritual practice they must have had to create such amazing auras.
A similar thing happened more recently when I needed to speak to a well known Kirtanee and Parcharak on some professional matter. It was straight after the Kirtan and the room was filled with people talking. As I approached this person being taller than myself it was necessary for me to look upwards a little, as I did what caught my attention was an incredible gold coloured aura, just around the right side of his head, it was so unexpected but there as clear as day. It’s the only time I’ve seen a gold aura and it made me realize something quite profound; this isn’t just a profession for him - he is naturally gifted with spiritual knowledge and wisdom.
Places have auras too. The aura of Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar is so brilliant that it lights up the sky above the entire complex, so even on the darkest night the sky appears blue as if it were daytime.
Being able to see and appreciate auras is one way of developing our subtle abilities. Spiritual states are experienced through our senses at a very subtle level, manifesting as visions, enchanting sounds, depth of feeling outside our normal range of experience, tastes and fragrances, movement and communication beyond the usual dimensions of time and space. These spiritual experiences are the flowers growing naturally on the wayside, they can be admired and connect us to an increasing sense of awe of the magnificence of the Creator as we walk on our spiritual path. And of course the flowers change with the altitude. The lives of enlightened Gursikhs are embellished with spiritual experiences and we can draw much inspiration from them; Baba Harnam Singh ji Rampur Khera (the account of his life: Se Kinehiya) and Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh ji (his autobiography Jail Chittian) are two such examples. Giani Thakur Singh ji (Patiala) a modern day Parcharak also often refers to the spiritual experiences of living Gursikhs in his katha.
Some people associate seeing auras with psychic or clairvoyant powers, for me it’s a little more down-to-earth than that, mainly because I learnt to read them while working in a bank during my student days. It all started when our line manager brought in a newspaper cutting of an article on auras and thought it would be good fun for us to learn how to read them. We learnt quickly but weren’t always sure if what we were seeing was real or imaginary, so being the bright sparks we were, we hit upon the idea that we would all read someone’s aura at the same time and then write our answers down on a bit of paper along with our name and fold it up. Once all the papers were gathered together they could be opened and we could get some idea of the accuracy of our readings. The results were startling; our team of seven all saw the same colour, then we knew we were onto something.
Over the years I’ve had some interesting encounters with auras. While on my travels abroad I met some Gursikhs in Singapore and we had a great time doing experiments. One evening I read the aura of one of them - it was a combination of blue and purple which indicates spirituality and intuition and was positioned around the top of his head. We then all went for a Rainsabai Kirtan and early next morning he was keen to have his aura read again to test if it had changed in any way as a result of hearing the Kirtan. It was fascinating to see the aura was now around his throat and much larger than before, he confirmed his focus for the preceding hours had been on the ‘singing’ of Gurbani as opposed to his daytime routine of thinking about it. So changes in activity as well as mental and emotional state are directly reflected in the colour, location and size of the aura.
The steps for reading an aura are quite easy. All you need is a pale background such as a white or cream coloured internal or external wall against which to stand your subject, with you stood in front of them at a distance of about 10 feet. Ask them to relax by taking some deep breaths and if you notice any signs of muscle tension - around the shoulders for example invite them to relax there, at the same time calm and ground yourself too. After a minute or so you are ready to begin your aura reading. As you look at the person, begin to defocus your eyes so you are more aware of the things in your peripheral vision than the details of the person. Continue to hold attention in your peripheral vision and quite quickly you should be able to see a centimetre or more of colour as a kind of cloud around the outer edge of the persons head and shoulders. It’s a very quick process taking a maximum of 3 to 4 minutes. Practising with others helps because you can compare readings and overcome any ‘is it real or am I imagining it?’ kind of responses. Some people don’t see a colour but they can sense a colour and this way of reading auras works just as well.
Here’s a brief run down of the main aura colours as I have experienced them:
Purple, blue, white and gold represent spirituality, intuition and sensitivity. Electric blue indicates a gift to communicate through telepathy. Pink is the colour of a person who can love unconditionally. Orange speaks of a strong, sociable, outgoing person who is eager to explore life. Yellow is about someone who is optimistic, happy and easy-going, it often appears with green.
Green is about healing oneself or possessing the ability to heal others. I saw this colour on the front of a friends shoulder one time, when I enquired if she had an injury there she told me about her sporting accident and how she had just come from a massage appointment. Having the massage would have promoted healing in the affected area giving rise to the green coloured aura around that part of her body.
Red means lots of focus and energy. Once my sister came home from work and after dropping her bag in the hallway she came straight into the lounge and closed the door behind her. As she stood there against the white of the door I saw a disc of red colour right on the top of her head. I asked if she had been concentrating a lot that day and true enough she’d just come out of an awful meeting which had lasted for hours and had required lots of focused thinking.
Black auras reflect bad intentions or actions. I’ve only ever seen one and despite the outwardly friendly, helpful demeanour of the person, I chose to go with the darkness of the energy surrounding them to inform my decision not to pursue further professional dialogue. A couple of years later I read a story in the local press about the same person, who had been convicted for assaults against women dating back to the time when I saw the black aura.
Sometimes you don’t need to ‘read’ a person’s aura by getting them to stand against a light background and defocusing your eyes etc. the aura is just there, clearly visible. Here‘s an example. I was coming out of a shopping centre once accompanied by a dear friend, as we walked down the steps to the pavement below, two Buddhist monks in their saffron coloured robes passed by quickly in the lunch time crowd. They had the most astonishing auras I have ever seen – electric blue and one foot tall around the tops of their heads, it was a case of ‘follow those monks!’ Sadly we lost them in the crowd. I still wonder sometimes, what kind of spiritual practice they must have had to create such amazing auras.
A similar thing happened more recently when I needed to speak to a well known Kirtanee and Parcharak on some professional matter. It was straight after the Kirtan and the room was filled with people talking. As I approached this person being taller than myself it was necessary for me to look upwards a little, as I did what caught my attention was an incredible gold coloured aura, just around the right side of his head, it was so unexpected but there as clear as day. It’s the only time I’ve seen a gold aura and it made me realize something quite profound; this isn’t just a profession for him - he is naturally gifted with spiritual knowledge and wisdom.
Places have auras too. The aura of Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar is so brilliant that it lights up the sky above the entire complex, so even on the darkest night the sky appears blue as if it were daytime.
Being able to see and appreciate auras is one way of developing our subtle abilities. Spiritual states are experienced through our senses at a very subtle level, manifesting as visions, enchanting sounds, depth of feeling outside our normal range of experience, tastes and fragrances, movement and communication beyond the usual dimensions of time and space. These spiritual experiences are the flowers growing naturally on the wayside, they can be admired and connect us to an increasing sense of awe of the magnificence of the Creator as we walk on our spiritual path. And of course the flowers change with the altitude. The lives of enlightened Gursikhs are embellished with spiritual experiences and we can draw much inspiration from them; Baba Harnam Singh ji Rampur Khera (the account of his life: Se Kinehiya) and Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh ji (his autobiography Jail Chittian) are two such examples. Giani Thakur Singh ji (Patiala) a modern day Parcharak also often refers to the spiritual experiences of living Gursikhs in his katha.
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