Total Thoughts - May 25, 2009 - The Power of Prayer

• Prayer is the liberation of the mind. Prayer focuses the mind into enabling it to draw upon the equanimity of the universe.
• The irony is that prayer allows us a glimpse into our true state, our natural state, but we instead resort to prayer as an escape.
• Temples are a place of peaceful energy and collective synergy that allows the seeker to benefit from the offerings of those before and around them.
• To a realized master, all their actions are an offering, a prayer, to the world. Likewise, our every action should also be a prayer.
• Real prayer is only possible by being present in the action. We must perform the action without desire and as an offering to God.
• The difference between meditation and prayer is similar to the difference between existence and awareness. In meditation we are existent; in prayer we are aware of our existence.
• "That is whole; this is Whole; from the Whole, the whole becomes manifest. From the Whole, when the whole is negated, what remains is again the Whole." – Our closing prayer

 

Total Thoughts - May 11, 2009 - When to Attach and When to Detach

• Attachments are all the same. It is the nature of the attachment that determines its quality.
• It is the nature of the mind, via ignorance, to seek attachment. The goal is to go beyond the mind to a state of mindlessness. It would then be possible to continue life as an experience, rather than as the experiencer.
• Attachments have a qualitative and quantitative aspect. Qualitative representing the good – bad spectrum, while quantitative reflected in time. Initially, the goal is to shift the qualitative balance to "good" attachments, and eventually the quantitative to less time.
• Attachment to people can be lessened by shifting the thought flow from "worrying" to being "concerned." A worried person is inefficient in the actions and performs out of anger, ignorance and lust. While a concerned person is more effective in their action as they work from single pointedness.
• Since the mind is a thought flow, we should focus our thoughts on nobler attachments.  Japa is the training of the mind in fixing itself to a single line of thinking.
• The more we think, the more we get attached. The attachments can be of a wide spectrum ranging from the tangible (objects) to intangible (knowledge).
• By living in the present we become more aware of our attachments by gauging the direction of our though flow. We begin to understand our obsessions, addictions and disillusionments.

Total Thoughts - May 4, 2009 - Destroying One’s Personality

•  Anger is the key to delusion. By controlling our perceptions we are able to lessen our attachments, and ultimately, we are able to destroy our personality.
• Attachments are developed by constant focus of our thoughts on a particular object. By detaching from that object, i.e. thinking less of it, or better, by giving everything equal importance, we are able to effectively live peacefully.
• By gradually giving up attachments to objects, then to the body, and eventually the mind we are able to rise from the tendencies of the ego.
• Attachments drive and strengthen the ego and veil our true nature and ability to discriminate between right and wrong. We react instead of act. 
• Live in the now! This will culture more patience, knowledge, and wisdom
• The same object can result in different reactions. The goal is to turn our perceptions of the same object from the negative to the positive (peace, harmony, calmness). This begins by being aware of the perception and giving up reaction.
• The perception of control is the stem of route of control. When we loose control, anxiety, regrets and anger develop. Since the nature of the universe is to be in a state of change, control is not possible: Life is 10% what you make it, 90% what you take it
• Anger generates delusion and delusion results in loss of memory. Loss of memory brings about the destruction of discriminative intelligence, and loss of discriminative intelligence spells ruin to a man - Srimad Bhagavad Gita Verse 63, Chapter 2