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Peggy, just one final thought for the day. :) I just read Sylvia's post and I agree with the idea that "there's no particular way you should react." As the Dalai Lama often says, I don't know if this will be of any use to you but about a year ago i had this little "flash" of insight that we'd all be better off if we removed the word "should" from our vocabularies. I think I posted this idea to the Forum a while back. When you think about it, the word "should" is all tied up with expectations and conditioning. Whether it is applying the word "should" to your own actions or the actions of others. Lemme know if this makes any sense. it's time for my nap. :)

Enjoyed the excerpt from Richard Bach. Because of its aquatic theme, it has a few parallels to an article about the Theory of Everything by physicist Michio Kaku which I found at a site called "Stephen Hawking's Universe". They both deal with "leaps of faith".

Phoenix, you and I are on the same wavelength it seems. I had the butterfly quote all lined up to post too. :) On the subject of mandalas, I've also found a few on the web. There's one called Tibetan Sand Cam which I found a while back. I love the symbolism though there was a time I'd have wondered why-on-earth people would put that much time, energy and effort into creating a beautiful masterpiece, then "destroy" it. :)

Hi Halya, nice to see you here. There were some excellent posts a while back about soul mates. I hope Hadi doesn't mind being "quoted" himself -

There are no special connections like "soul-mates", a much hyped romantic idea. You've heard the expression, "you are not responsible for how someone else feels". By the same token, no one else is responsible for how you feel. When you feel a spiritual connection with someone it is because they have triggered and awakened "love" inside you. It was always there, but it needed something to awaken it. Posted June 2, 2000 by Hadi

Hope this sheds some light on your question.

Hadi, I was just wondering if you (or anyone else :) have read The Celestine Prophecy? This was the first book I read once I "crashed out" of that Unity Consciousness episode. Here's a section I have just been re-reading -

'You had a mystical experience that allowed you briefly to see the magnitude of the energy one can acquire. But ths state is like leaping ahead of everyone else and glimpsing the future. We can't maintain it for very long. Once we try to talk to someone who is operating in normal consciousness, or try to live in a world where conflict is still happening, we get knocked out of this advanced state and fall back to the level of our old selves. ... Then is is a matter of slowly regaining what we glimpsed, a little at a time ...'

...

All religion is about humankind finding relationship to one higher source. And all religions speak of a perception of God within, a perception that fills us, makes us more than we were. Religions become corrupted when leaders are assigned to explain God's will to the people instead of showing them how to find this direction within themselves.

For a bit more detail on the "Nine Insights" in this book, click here.

Boy, so many great posts to catch up on ... I echo Hadi's sentiments about this Forum. How did we ever live without it! :)

Peggy, interesting question about anger. I used to have a HUGE problem with anger and if you'd told me 18 months ago that I'd reach a state where anger is virtually a dim and distant memory I would have not believed it possible. Then again, i also was totally unaware there was such a thing as Unity Consciousness. :)

A lot of people's anger is based on a thought along the lines of "Why is this happening to me?" Deepak & others are saying, 'change the thought and you change the experience'. And it does work! Getting angry is a habit. You become conditioned to react to certain people/experiences/situations. This habit and conditioning can be consciously changed. The change may not happen overnight but with time it can become second nature.

Hope this makes some kind of sense. :) I remember I used to read this sort of material and think "What a load of nonsense!" Though I'd have used a less diplomatic word than "nonsense". I would have said "I don't need to develop tolerance. I just need people to stop bugging me!" :)

Here's a further excerpt from The Dalai Lama's book where he speaks about his own relationship to anger:

Anger and hatred are two of our closest friends. When I was young I had quite a close relationship with anger. Then eventually I found I had a lot of disagreement with anger. By using common sense, with the help of compassion and wisdom, I find I now have a more powerful argument with which to defeat anger. The ultimate source of my happiness is my peace of mind. Nothing can destroy this except my own anger ... According to our experience with anger, if you do not make an attempt to reduce it, it will remain with you and even increase. Then even with small incidents you will immediately get angry. Once you try to control or disipline your anger, then eventually even big events will not cause anger.

14th Dalai Lama

Hi everyone! I am a newcomer to this site and I have been reading and absorbing all of your wonderful posts over the past month. I came to your website during a period when I was trying to deal with rejection from the first person that I really loved. All the posts on "soul-agreements" have really helped me to understand my situation from a different perspective and have given me a greater sense of acceptance and peace. However, I still deeply long for this individual and I don't know how to best deal with my feelings. I don't want to deny that these feelings still exist but I want to be able to move on and not feel anything for this person. In one of his books, Chopra explains that the heart is a very wise thing that is not at all irrational. I guess I am just wondering how one can continue to respect one's heart but have hopes based in reality and not fantasy. Any thoughts?

Deepak Ji, I'm embarking into buiding corporate values in my organization. We have talked about bringing you to our country (Malaysia) to speak to our Top Management. This is to create greater awareness about the importance of values in an organisation. I need your advise on how I should go about doing this project. If I could attend any of your sessions which will help me, please provide more information. The organization would like to know more details on your participation in helping us and also the cost.Please revert soon. Thank you very much.

I just want to tell you folks, Hadi, Geoff, Kererya and everyone how much I have enjoyed your stories, great cartoons, comments and sharing this last little while. The allegories about the water and the story about letting go are especially appropriate for me right now as I am in the process of packing up and moving four thousand miles away....to the ocean! {Pacific} No, I don't really know anyone there I just feel it is where I should be and it will all work out. It has been a very therapuetic process going through a lifetime of "stuff" and getting rid of much of it and I will now travel lighter. Consequently, I have not had time to post reflections here but I really value having you all back in my life. I echo Hadi's comment about the quality of this site and the people here. {now} I will be disconnected for a few weeks while everything is in transit but will be back the beginning of August. I will miss you all.

Dear Dr. Choppra, I just received your audio Perfect Digestion. I think it's great. I have IBS and I have been suffering for the past couple of years with no relief and I feel like I have finally found something that may help me. However, I can't seem to find almond oil anywhere. Do you have any suggestions on where I may find this? Thank You

Hello Everyone

Peggy: I read your post a few days ago and it sounds like you were experiencing a whole lot of stuff (to put it mildly). I'm sorry that happened to you because from my perspective,it seems like a violation to you. I hope you are doing fine. I was listening to the How To Know God tapes today and I believe all of your feelings are valid. I think it is natural to feel good, bad, anger, no anger, awkward, fine, grateful, remorseful, resolved or conflicted feelings towards all the events. It seems to me like you are experiencing a whole spectrum of feelings and I believe this is natural. I personally do not think that there is any one particular way you should react.As a matter of fact, I think it is natural that your feelings about this situation evolve. It's kind of like this.

. 1 Fight-or-flight This response enables us to survive in the face of danger. It is linked to a God who wants to protect us, like a parent who looks out for the safety of a small child. We turn to this God when we perceive that our health or well being is in jeopardy.

2. Reactive Beyond mere survival, we instinctively strive to exercise our power in the world: to compete, to achieve and to put our stamp on things. This is the God we invoke to champion the 'I', the 'me', and the 'mine', anticipating Divine assistance in fulfilling our personal needs, wants and desires.

3. Restful Awareness Rest and activity alternate in every part of the brain. This is the God of peace, who enables us to find a calm center in the midst of outward chaos. We turn to this God when we feel the outer word is swallowing us up in its endless turmoil.

4. Intuitive The God of the intuitive response supports our inner knowingness. When we respond intuitively we respond from the inside out. This is the God of understanding, acceptance and forgiveness. This response provides us insight into the deeper significance of life events.

5. Creative The human brain has the remarkable ability to invent new things and discover new facts. This creative ability appears to come from nowhere--the unknown simply gives rise to a new thought. We call this inspiration and its mirror is a Creator who made the whole world from nothingness. We turn to the God of the creative response when we are seeking innovative solutions to life's challenges.

6. Visionary The God of the visionary response is the God of light. The human nervous system is capable of accessing this response, which brings transformation, clarity, wonder, magic and healing. This is the God of miracles who reveals the higher states of consciousness available to human beings.

7. Sacred The human nervous system is born from a single fertilized cell that has no brain functions in it, only a speck of life. Despite the vast complexity of the nervous system that derived from this primordial cell, the brain senses its origins and essence as that speck of pure life energy. To match it, there is a God of pure being, one who doesn't think but just is. When we elicit the sacred God response, we see all of life as the cosmic play of forces, directed by a transcendent Divine intelligence.

I neglected to say, loved the Dharma cartoon. LOL!!

I'm very pleased you all enjoyed the story of the Awakening Monk so much. I don't know who the author is but it was a privilege to share it with you.

Chris, your parable about the nature of water and the analogy therein reminded me of this little story by Richard Bach in the opening section of his book Illusions. Every time I return to this little story it speaks to me anew:

"Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a great crystal river.

"The current of the river swept silently over them all - young and old, rich and poor, good and evil, the current going its own way, knowing only its own crystal self.

"Each creature in its own manner clung tightly to the twigs and rocks at the river bottom, for clinging was their way of life, and resisting the current what each had learned from birth.

"But one creature said at last, 'I am tired of clinging. Though I cannot see it with my own eyes, I trust that the current knows where it is going. I shall let go, and let it take me where it will. Clinging, I shall die of boredom.'

"The other creatures laughed and said, 'Fool! Let go, and that current you worship will throw you tumbled and smashed across the rocks, and you will die quicker than boredom!'

"But the one heeded them not, and taking a breath did let go, and at once was tumbled and smashed by the current across the rocks.

"Yet in time, as the creature refused to cling again, the current lifted him free from the bottom, and he was bruised and hurt no more.

"And the creatures downstream, to whom he was a stranger, cried, 'See a miracle! A creature like ourselves, yet he flies! See the Messiah, come to save us all!'

"And the one carried in the current said, 'I am no more Messiah than you. The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare let go. Our true work is this voyage, this adventure.'

"But they cried the more, 'Saviour!' all the while clinging to the rocks, and when they looked again he was gone, and they were left alone, making legends of a Saviour."

It is pleasing to see so many familiar faces gradually returning. This forum is a unique space for growth and understanding. It remains unlike any other site I have known in or out of cyberworld. I am honoured to be among such fine company.

I bow. I embrace. Namaste'.

Good afternoon all...loved your story Hadi..it also reminds me of the story of the man who coulnd't discern wehter he was a butterfly dreaming that he was a man, or a man dreaming that he was a butterfly...The message is clear...all there is is the now..and it's an important reminder to practice this.

I was surfing the wonderful world of the web the other day, and found a neat site for the moment on mandalas. I alsways remember being drawn to them as a child, and thought, gee I would love to make one.....the geometrics involved are amazing..as well as the final materpiece...the colors and even the message that they depict are just incredible. I think what I'll attempt to do is not try to be so perfect and do my own colored sand mandala and see how it comes out...I think it would be most interesting to get involved and attempt a try and see how meditative this approach would be. Actually, I can only imagine that placing the colored sand in the sections and creating images with the sand would be incredible..Just my thoughts for the day. x

The Symbolism of Flowing Water Water is a mutable element. As it flows it adapts itself to whatever shape it moves through. Because of its motion, though, it is not limited by the forms through which it moves.
As humans, we often find ourselves resistant to movement, to leaving the limitations of the past and to moving towards the freedom of new ways of being. To watch, hear, and open all of our outer and inner senses to the flow of water reminds us that flow and change are the natural way of life.
We can also be reminded of water's strength: that without exerting excessive force it gradually wears down all which is in its path. So, when we allow our own innate energies to flow we dissolve mental and emotional blockages. Water flowing through us to release tension and stress.

Also nice to "see" you Chris.

Hadi's story also tells us the "Buddha" is alive and well.

Thank you for writing "How to Know God". It is a masterpiece. Your work has inspired and energized me and continues to do so.

Hadi, I really enjoyed that story.

Peggy, it is good to "see" you again.

For the infinite, there is no small or big; there is no past or future, it is all NOW and it has no size. A few weeks ago at my observatory, my neighbor and a friend of his got to talking about how unimaginably far away even the closest stars are from us. His friend (who studied with Native American shamans and teaches Yoga) said that it really didn't make much sense to think about it like that because NOW is all that is, and in that eternal NOW space and time collapse. I thought that was quite profound.

That was a great story Hadi. The part of the American evangelist left me surprised...I thought for sure he was a goner! LOL A couple of nights ago, Larry King interviewed the Bakkers, it was too much for me to swallow. I watched only a few minutes before it hit me that before they were running one scam between the two of them, now they're running two. All in the name of the Lord...oops! forgot! Now, it turns out, the prison system has also contributed to the Affirmation of Mr Jim's beliefs!

After that brief interlude with sarcasm and on another note : )...the story is great. Think I'll ask the hubby to do it in cartoons! Monk to parrot to elephant, etc.

Peggy, glad that you're regaining perspective about past events. Your reminiscing brought to mind a past experience that ties in with Hadi's story about impermanence. About 10 years ago, my husband went through some very trying times. Of course, what happens to him happens to the whole family, so we were all down in the dumps. Finally, after one especially bad week, my husband and I went out for breakfast. A reporter and cameraman came up to us, and I lost it. When she saw how upset I was, she apologized and left...no interview, no film. We finished breakfast in peace. The waitresses (who've seen our kids grow up) were especially sweet and friends who were around at the time behaved so kindly! We left the restaurant and for the first time in months, we both noticed that it was spring. The sun was shining, birds were singing, there was new growth all around. Then and there we said, that's enough of that. We packed our bags and went to a fancy hotel in town, with the kids, for three days. We'd been sad a long time and in one instant the whole thing turned from tragic to ludicrous, and from that into fun.

Ever since then, we've become more patient, accepting. We've also continued to "celebrate" our "losses, tragedies, troubled times" with something special. Never fails to work.

I am the ground state, the forces of Nature, and the material world.

I am the dancer, the dancing and the dance.

I am the creator, the process of creating, and that which is created.

Deepak Chopra
Everyday Immortality
www.chopra.com

Geoff, thanks for the Dalai Lama's statement concerning people who cause us problems and the opportunity that presents.

Heaven knows that I often need to be more tolerant and patient! But my reaction to the robbery is still puzzling to me.

Should I be relieved that I have felt no anger or do I need the anger to practice my tolerance on? Does this make any sense?

Kereyra, I have been able to see the humor in this! Many times I have read that life's experiences viewed close-at-hand seem tragic. But viewed at a distance, they become comic.

When I was twenty-five, I was desperately in love with a young man in the school of music at Peabody. His piano teacher told him that he had to make a choice between his music and me. Well, I finished a distant second to his piano! Thought I would die. It was hideously painful.

Some months later, I was a guest at his house where he was recuperating from an injury to his leg. I was still carrying a torch for him. But there came a moment that day when a ferocious storm came up. I sat in his living room watching the hard-driving rain hit the lake at the end of the property. Trees were thrashing about in the wind and the lightening was near. Meanwhile, the love from my past was sitting at the grand piano playing a particularly tragic Chopin Etude. Suddenly, it was just all too much!!! The music and the storm and that leg in a cast sticking out from behind the piano just hit me as about the funniest and silliest experience of my life. I had no trouble getting over him after that. :-)

Hadi, that is one of the best stories that you have posted! I particularly like the phrase "...rejoiced in it with high indifference." That teases my brain.

During some of my most difficult times, my mother has often reminded me, "This too shall pass." I guess she didn't need to remind me during the good times.

Enjoyed your post. It reminds me of a story I read somewhere about Vishnu asking for a glass of water. Does anyone know the story I'm thinking of? Vishnu sends this guy off and he gets "sidetracked" through several lifetimes then finds himself back in Vishnu's presence and he asks "Well, did you bring me some water?" :)

DHARMA THE CAT'S FOUR TRUTHS:

1. Impermanence: In life, the only constant factor is change.
2. Reciprocity: Whatever qualities you perceive in other people you draw out in them.
3. Self-Description: Peoples judgements and criticisms of others (as distinct from detached observations) are self-descriptive.
4. Accusation: Accusers are guilty.

Dharma the Cat

"Once there was a monk, a disciple of the great Buddha, which signifies He Who Is Awake. For men asked the Lord Gotama, are you a God? And he answered, No. And they asked again, Are you a saint? And he answered again, No. So then they asked, What are you? And he answered: I Am Awake. So he was known as the Awakened One.
And the Monk, seeking to emulate the Buddha, practiced the art of Meditation, which in its original form before being distorted by false imaginings and the elaborations of theologians was but this: To look upon all things and Remembering your Self to say unto your Soul, "This is impermanent".
And so the monk looked upon all incidents, all happenings, reminding himself "This too is impermanent."
And the Monk came close to Awakening, and therefore he was in great peril, for the Lord of the abyss of hallucinations, whom Buddhists call Mara, the Tempter, cometh quickly to one near Awakening, to hypnotize him again into the Sleep of Fools which is the ordinary consciousness of Men.
And Mara did sorely aflict the monk with death of offspring, with the insanity of loved ones, with eye troubles, sickness, slander and malice, with great curses and diverse suffering; but the monk always Remembered; This too is impermanent.
So Mara, enraged, caused the Monk to die, and to reincarnate as a mindless creature, a Parrot, which flitted without care from tree to tree in the forest. And Mara felt sure the Monk had no chance of Awakening.
But one day a brother monk of the Buddhist order came through the forest chanting the teachings of the Great Gotama that All is Impermanence. And this sparked mental activity in the Parrot who began to remember himself and his old life and again the teaching brought him close to Awakening.
Frustrated, Mara caused the Parot to die and to reincarnate as an elphant even deeper in the jungle. Now the Tempter felt sure that the Monk would never Awaken. Years went by, but good Karma by nature always returns and eventually the Elephant was captured and sold to the Rajah. Again another Buddhist monk came, this time to the Rajah, and he taught the Buddhist wisdom in the courtyard where the Elephant was kept. And his teaching was, All is Impermanent.
And the Elephant's memories were stirred as he remembered himself as a monk who practiced this teaching. But again, before he could Awaken, Mara came down on the Elephant with all her fury and caused him to die and this time to reincarnate at the furthest possible remove from all chance of Awakening, as an American Evangelist.
And the Evangelist was in the Moral Majority and journeyed across America preaching that all were in danger of Hellfire, and that there was only one path to Salvation, and that path was to believe all he said, and to do all he demanded.
And he enslaved many, who became mental Automatons who went about crying , Halleluja, We Are Saved.
And Mara was pleased for now this dogmatist was surely beyond reach.
But the evangelist met with others of the Clergy to plan Missionaries to the Heathen of the East; and there One spoke of the superstitions of the Orient, and he mentioned the Buddhist teaching that All is Impermanence.
Mental activity began in the Evangelist as his past incarnations surfaced in his memories. His attention fell away from his preaching and as he began again to stir toward Awakening, Mara tried the last trap of All. She caused the evangelist to become Mahabrahma, Lord of Lords, God of All Universes.
And Mahabrahma abode in Divine Bliss for billions of years, creating many lesser Brahmas who created their own Universes of which they were overlords. Mahabrahma watched all this pass and rejoiced in it with High Indifirrence, for He was Conscious Without Desire. And so the monk now seemed completely cut off from any chance of Awakening.
But as the Eons passed, Mahabrahma observed that the Great Law of Laws was that All these things were Impermanent. If All was impermanent and he was All, then he too must be Impermanent. And this Realisation came like a flash of lightening and he was suddenly Awakened and retuned to ordinary consciousness and returned to the mind of the Monk practising the Buddhist meditation of looking on all things and Remembering, This too is Impermanent.

And the Monk was not sure if he was a monk imagining he had been a God, or a God playing at being a monk."

Namaste'.

P.S. In addition to my previous message let me add - on the site below his picture, click on the arrow and write ADD and you should receive the periodic messages on your screen.....

Eureka! I just found Deepak's site for The Daily Guru. It can be found under the title Deepak Chopra's Self Help Guru. Hope this helps those of you who are interested. Periodically you will receive a profound statement from this site. Good Luck......

Hello, everyone - I've just been lurking on this site and reading the forum. Have enjoyed it VERY much. I have read most of Deepak's books and just finished How To Know God - it was awesome and inspiring.
Just wanting to respond to Lois: I don't exactly remember how I signed up, but I do have the email address for the Daily Guru. It is: thedailyguru@aol.com.
Namaste

Is there a Daily Guru?

"I" need to know where too!

How do I E mail the webmaster for info in receiving THE DAILY GURU?

I have been listening to a wonderful talk by Jack Kornfield on the "Ten perfections of the heart". You can find it here - you'll need to have Real Audio installed on your computer. Most people do. If not, there is usually a link which pops up which will install it 4U.

Yes, I did have a period of "Mystic depression" for a while. :) On the one hand, it was revelatory that such an experience as the "Unity state" was possible. I mean I thought I was about the last person on this little blue ball of dirt who would ever have such an experience. :) But yes, once you come back to ordinary day-to-day consciousness, it can seem very flat ...

Parasites? ... hmmm ... I think the greatest parasites are fear, anger and hatred. Until we transcend them it really won't matter what we put in our bodies ...

Actually there's a wonderful little book called ET 101 which was the first place I saw fear described as a "parasitic lifeform" which has ruled life on this planet for far too long.

PARASITES CAN UNDERMINE YOUR HEALTH Many people today are suffering from chronic fatigue and other debilitating illnesses. Unfortunately, pharmaceutical products often provide only temporary relief for these "hard-to-classify" diseases and in the long run have proven to be ineffective. One overlooked cause of chronic fatigue and other symptoms is the presence of unhealthy organisms in the system, otherwise known as parasites! A parasite is an organism that lives off the host; the host being you or me. The parasite lives a parallel life inside our bodies, feeding off either our own energy, our own cells or the food we eat, or even feeding off the HEALTH SUPPLEMENTS we use. In recent medical studies, it has been estimated that 85% of the North American adult population has at least one form of parasite living in their bodies. Some authorities feel this figure may be as high as 95%. Unfortunately, medical testing procedures only catch about 20% of the actual cases of parasites. OVER A 1,000 SPECIES OF PARASITES that can live in your body, tests are available for approximately 40 to 50 types. This means doctors are only testing for about 5% of the parasites and missing 80% of those. This brings the ability to clinically find parasites down to 1%. Once you've established that you do have parasites, taking drugs to get rid of them may not always work. This is because a drug will often drive a parasite from one organ of the body to another. It's like people moving to better climates to make their living conditions more pleasant, or birds flying south for the winter. What does a parasite actually do? They eat, lay eggs and secrete. Parasites live off the food that goes into your body. They exist mainly in the digestive tract, but can be found in the liver, as well as throughout the body. Other parasites actually get their nutrition directly from the cells of the body. They can literally attach themselves anywhere and suck nutrition out of the cells. These parasites are significantly more dangerous because they can travel to places in the body where they can do a lot more damage than a parasite living exclusively in the digestive tract. Since drugs are ineffective against most parasites, the best way to get rid of them is through herbal cleansing. A comprehensive program will include both a digestive cleanser that eliminates hardened material on the walls of the colon along with a parasite cleanser and easily absorbable liquid supplements to boost the immune system and replace any lost good bacteria. Although herbal cleansing is the "key" to restoring one's health, many people will give up after a short time. That's because it takes patience and persistence to overcome one's health problems and many people are not willing to undergo the discomfort of "cleansing reactions" as they detoxify their bodies. For those who are willing to put in the effort over an extended period of time, they will see remarkable changes in their health for the better. By following a good diet and being consistent on one's detoxification program, unhealthy organisms will pass out of the body and the body will begin to heal itself. --Turfseer@aol.com

Hadi, then maybe Sensei would be a better title for Kaga-san than Guru. (^_^)

Crown/Harmony Books

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