Where IN the World Are YOU?

You wonder how in the world you can sail through life gracefully with generosity and gratitude, without being rocked, shocked or knocked, agitated, resentful or animus towards anyone! 

Realize that you are a soul and that you occupy a form comprised of the same elements as the world is made of - earth wind, water, fire, space (void); realize that you are a temporary dweller in the form you are in. Here are some insights and practices, some meditations and contemplations to correct our relationship with the world: 

1. A Day without Desires: Desire is the most frequent thought we create in our mind: I want destination wedding; a large home; a luxury car; an expensive vacation; private school for children and so on. Our desires keep our consciousness agitated and therefore vulnerable to the world. Desires give us fear of unachievability and thereby delay or thwart our happiness. Practice a day without a desire and if it arises, let it pass and become a master of contentment.
2. The Art of Detached Involvement: Attachment brings fear of loss. Make every interaction, every relationship an opportunity to practice detachment with involvement, that is, be present and empathize for others experiences but do not relate to your own or ‘re-live it’ so as to keep your consciousness cool and enhance your ability to care. 
3. Stillness in Motion: At the heart of consciousness lies an ‘inner space’ that never ever changes. It is the ‘still point’ that gives us stability in the chaos around us and the one that defines us who we are. Viewing our own life and things around us from this ‘still point’ allows us to see the world in transition, flow and thereby helping us become detached. 
4. Observe From Above: If you can rise above the scene in front of you, ‘as if’ you are leaving your body 'down there' in the scene and pull your perspective far enough away, like astronauts on a journey away from the physical world, the insignificance of...everything, becomes apparent. Events and circumstance lose their effect upon you. You may even see and realize that every scene that appears in front of you is just a fleeting image in the larger drama, one small frame in the reel of the movie called life. Your cravings diminish! 
5. Listen to the Silence: Behind all creativity and prior to all creation is silence. The artist begins with a blank canvas...silence. Between the notes of a symphony is nothing but ...silence. Between and behind your thoughts is the power of your being ... your silence. From the silence of the self comes all creation. If you remain busy and occupied with what is happening around you, you will not be able to harness your own power of silence coming from ‘still point’ to be detached or contented. Meditation takes you beyond your surroundings, into this silence. Practice meditation. 
6. Imitate a Seed: Hold the seed of any plant in the palm of your hand and it seems so small and insignificant, so inert and static. And yet the complete blueprint of the future growth of its form, color and fragrance are merged within. It is the perfect metaphor for the 'light of consciousness', for the self that 'I am', that ‘you are’. Real rest and renewal happens when we can bring our consciousness into a seed like state. There is no stimulation. The mind is completely still without thought, the intellect is silent without evaluation or judgment. All the tendencies and traits of your personality have temporarily dissolved back into the light of you, so there are no cravings or impulses towards action. The conscience is still and the memory bank has been temporarily shut down. There is a complete and natural detachment from the material world. 

Action: Analyze to what extent you are affected and dominated by the thought of, and things around you. Next take one of the tools above a day and try to reach still point in the midst of chaos.

Adapted from Mike George’s article, “Where IN the World Are YOU?”.© 2013