Refuged in my job life

I just have to focus on my job and things will fall into place, both for myself and in fulfilling my duties to those around me. When I concentrate on my job only, the first advantage is peace of mind. Then comes monetary gain. It also means that I will not be interfering or messing up in other people's lives and their jobs. And bloody hell...the truth of the matter is that I don't have to sweat it out in some horrid work conditions like some people have to. The only thing for me is to handle my loneliness, the self-doubts that keep creeping in occasionally and the little bit of bodily pain that I get sometimes. I go to Facebook because of this loneliness but the problem is that it's not easy to simply watch and not participate in the discussions. And if one starts to discuss, one gets dragged into a lot of emotional issues. Facebook is a Pavlov dog syndrome that I have and to replace it, I might replay a inspiring recording over and over again to get me back to work. As for my self-doubts, I'm at a point where even discussions with my counselor or reading a quote or scriptural text doesn't take me any further. So I just have to go on giving myself time and take things easily. The occasional bodily pain that I get is something that I have to go through mindfully. But I have started on my way already. For me now, doing my job is taking refuge and even though I get bumped often that puts me back on track, I'm enjoying it. :)

Removed some of my FB friends

I have removed some of my FB friends. It was difficult to do so because they might feel offended or left out. But I was having friends who I had no idea of. I mean, it's easy to fake talking nicely on the net on things of mutual interest. I do not suspect any one of them in particular and while one can make out if a person is faking it or not in the long run with or without some observation, the damage might well have happened before then. And someone might do a terrorist act faking it as coming from my computer, email and what not. Honestly, I felt that some of them might be deeply hurt but they were also at risk of being framed. This is what life is sometimes about, we need to be adapting to changing circumstances, atleast till there is no necessity for these precautions.

Labyrinth Pilgrimage

http://www.gratefulness.org/labyrinth/index.htm

This is a wonderful tool for self-reflection which can be used to come out of a problem, crises or depression. Here, one goes on a journey to the center through a lot of twists, stopping in-between and then one traces back to the outside. There can be different interpretations on this tool. This is what I have experienced...

The labyrinth is a model of how our soul gets deep into the worldly life and then again comes out. One can say that the center is when we are totally immersed and helpless in the worldly life. Going through this practice helps in realizing that there are no short-cuts in life but there is steady progress.

Another interpretation is this...the center can be viewed as when we have solved our core problem on our recovery from worldly life crises but still need to come out.of the remains of the problem...like how someone after destroying a demon in a castle has to come out safely when the castle starts crumbling in the absence of the demon. Hence it's important to complete everything that one has started not just for peace but also for happiness. In the Mahabharatha war, Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna, knew how to penetrate the Padmavyuha but did not know how to come out of it. This led to his death, although heroic.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padmavyuha

Note the similarity between the labyrinth in the 2 links.

A note of caution or forewarning to my Russian friends

I'm not too much into politics but I find that there seems to be 2 factions within Russia which is in a power-struggle or dog-fight or whatever one calls it. One has financial power and the other has the intelligence power. Presently it's the latter who is in the administration. It's imperative for these people to know that neither the finance nor the intelligence can ever really save them always and that it is only their morals. If the intelligence folks think that they can beat up the opposition, they are inviting trouble in future though they might not be aware of the danger now. Tomorrow, they may be booked and sent to prison just like the financial corruption charges were pressed on the opposition now accusing them of abuse of power. Some of you might curse me as well for saying this but I have to warn you for your own good. You might think that your group is the darling of the masses but there are also those in the opposition who want to do good too. And oneday, Russian citizens will want to give them a chance too, not because they find you wanting but because of equality and justice. Face this reality now itself and if you are doing anything illegitimate, become legitimate in everything. Don't let them come after you like a pack of hyenas on an aging lion and his pride. From a friend.

A further note: It's not really possible to do power-sharing with everyone who want to do good to Russia and are in the opposition. A father is entitled to the affection of the wife but so is the son equally entitled, in a different manner ofcourse. The son wouldn't want his mother to love him just because he is a copy of his father. So even if you are going to offer them a big chunk of powers, they will want to implant their mark and not yours. Nothing in this world can be possessed, including a country, however great your love for the country is.

8 keywords in Hinduism that form a comprehensive framework of sprituality

While these are Hindu keywords, there will ofcourse be corresponding ones in other religions. From all my years in spirituality, this is what I reduce all the complexities into. These keywords are Sharanam, JnanaYoga , Bhakthi Yoga, Karma Yoga, Prapatti, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi.

Sharanam means taking refuge. Jnana Yoga is realization of oneness, Bhakthi Yoga is true love, Karma Yoga is service to society, Prapatti is exchanging self-love for egoism, Dharana is repeated focus, Dhyana is patient meditation and Samadhi is being in self-nature.

The above is a loose explanation of the meaning of the terms. Sharanam stands alone (BG 18:66), while the 3 Yogas and Prapatti can be grouped together (BG 18:65) and Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi together is called Samyama (the last 3 steps of the 8 steps of Pathanjali Yoga). They are all inter-related and one leads to another. While it's possible to be grounded and start in one, it's impossible to say 'no' to another. There is a thread running along them connecting them meaningfully. I will give one such thread though there might well be many such permutations and combinations. In the case of Arjuna, he  suppressed his ego and took refuge in Krishna. Krishna gave him wisdom which in turn led to true love which gave a motivation to discharge his job as a service. He did it with concentration and meditation after the sermon and finally became liberated.

This is a comprehensive framework because being grounded in one leads to the rest and all needs of a spiritual aspirant gets satisfied by these.

Sensitivity and balance

Being highly sensitive may lead to mood imbalances. Also, while following yoga or any spiritual discipline, it is important to be balanced. One has to be gentle but yet firm when one takes the baby steps. Stagnating at one point for long leads to difficulty in continuing further on the journey after the stop. If one goes too fast, then one can get burnt out leading to forced relaxation and the necessity of attending to the burns. But trying to go at the correct pace and do everything right in yoga or spirituality can in itself lead to analysis paralysis where one starts to think too much on what to do and what not to do leading to indecisiveness, immobilization and uneasiness. So, one also has to rely on some sort of rules of thumb or heuristics which need not be some big idea in spirituality or science but simple common sense or intuition gained from a past childhood that's buried deep in the sub-conscious. There are a few uneducated laymen and common folks who even do better in life than the doctorates and disciples. Though their challenges are greater and their path is more painful, they also manage to live a decently good life and reach the destination.

Internet users especially Facebookers are today's Pavlov's Dogs

Some people get up and go to Facebook the first thing in the morning, without even brushing up the teeth. Then when one has a coffee or break-fasts, then when one goes to work, then when one is stopped in-between the work by an invitation to join a Facebook Cause (Facebookers are very social conscious humane people), then when one peeks into the I-Phone during a company meeting, then during lunch break, then to stay awake after food, then at tea time, then ...

~ a Pavlov's Dog of today (me :O))

Got to cut these libido tendencies.