Posted by: New Renaissance Bookshop
on Jun 17, 2009
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In her book, Practicing Peace in Times of War, Pema Chodron asks the question, Why is it that we all want a peaceful existence, yet our actions or reactions produce just the opposite. We seek peace and happiness by going to war. This can occur personally with those close to us. Or it can happen in the world theater with country against country. We want to be compassionate and loving to those around us, but many times, we react in anger and with judgmental behavior. Our small self feels injured or betrayed, and we strike back, in a fashion we are accustomed to. The script is written for us according to our karma. The end result of our negative reactions is more suffering, and even more karma. This aggressive human tendency to react in anger may be the root of all wars and suffering. Pema Chodron tells us the antidote to anger is patience. When a rude driver yells out his window at you, there is a moment when you have the choice how to react. These moments require patience combined with compassion. fearlessness, and a great deal of energy. She advises us to go cold turkey, watch the anger, don’t suppress it, but also don’t react to it. Pema asked her teacher Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist Master, why this moment was so uncomfortable if we don’t give into anger. He said it was the burn, burning up seeds of aggressive behavior. We are burning the seeds of negative karma and planting the seeds of peacefulness. |
Posted by: New Renaissance Bookshop
on Feb 12, 2009
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...spiritual magnetism is something different. It is the power of the soul to attract or create whatever it needs for all-round happiness and well-being. Yogananda from The Divine Romance
We are fortunate indeed to have the wise counsel of contemporary spiritual masters who understood this century’s challenges. Paramhansa Yogananda founded his headquarters in California in 1925. He experienced the Great Depression and World War II and taught us how to “stand unshaken ‘midst the crash of breaking worlds.”
Posted by: New Renaissance Bookshop
on Feb 12, 2009
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If You’re Not Living On the Edge You’re Taking Up Too Much Room! by Bob Procte
As we write this message in the New Year of 2009, many of us find ourselves “living on the edge” possibly not by choice and probably not feeling at all comfortable. Our security blanket has blown off in the winds of change and we find ourselves exposed and looking inward for our core values and spiritual truth.
It is said that we are given just the amount of challenge that we can handle to grow. Amazingly, when we face challenges with positive energy, we are rewarded with help from all directions. People, places and information appear in synchronistic perfection, if we only ask.
