Divine Truth

What is the meaning of mindfulness and to live in the present moment? What is the connection?

We need to understand that time is transient. It is flowing constantly. Even as we speak in the present moment which is extremely short, that moment has become the past. And every future moment becomes the short present before it becomes the past. So, really speaking, both the past and future have no permanent existence.

The divine truth that is within us and eternal shines through in that present moment. This is the only moment, the present moment, where we can feel the divine energy. Mindfulness is just this, the divine shining through the present moment.

Once we start living in the present moment, we will realize that we need to go beyond the present moment even, to feel the divine presence. Beyond time is where we realize that we are, in fact, divine consciousness itself.

For example, the fraction of seconds between two “on” chants, that empty space is where the divine presence can be felt. Meditation can help in reaching this divine residence.
Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.comSpeakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Occurrence

We need a proof for everything. But there is no proof for three things: god, love and beauty. We know these but these are only within our experiences and each one’s experiences are different.

I might think sunrise is beautiful. But another might find it an ordinary occurrence. Similarly, god! Can I really prove there is a god ? Not to the world! It is my personal experience. And so for love. I can feel it, believe it but acts of love can be totally misread or there may be no comprehension of that love unless each of us is able to experiences it.

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Struggle

As humans, we are as negative as many others around us. We struggle with feelings like injustice, reactions, feeling rejected, the unfairness of justifying a wrong deed. Sometimes, these feelings become intense and there is much anger.

Then gradually, as you realize you can only change yourself, grudgingly, acceptance of what you can’t control or change sets in and you begin to seek answers to the “why”.

Finally dawns the light you need so badly within you and have blocked for so long. And when expectations die, finally, some peace dawns.

What a struggle when we could have arrived at this solution so much earlier.

But, right time and right effort is imminent! So much backlog to clear. We have to be kind to ourselves.

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Learn

We learn something every day. There is sometimes a first time and a new experience. And sometimes, repeated similar experiences because we DON’T. It is typical that these repeated experiences will keep coming. Until we learn what we are supposed to.

On a lighter note, this happens when we don’t address a WhatsApp message. The message will keep coming up on the screen until we read it.   it is a constant reminder that repeated patterns must be addressed.

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Emotion

Tears are like irrigation for the heart. We are always told to control our feelings, not to get emotional or teary, that it is a sign of weakness!

Somewhere, if we believe this, we are suppressing ourselves and not accepting ourselves because we have been told time and time again that it is a weakness. And who wants to be perceived as “weak”?

If a demonstration of emotions is weakness, why have we been given them in the first place? All our chakras are related to emotions and elements. Suppression leads to blockages. But we still carry on in our ignorant mindsets, believing that to be emotional is to lose control. In case if excesses, yes! Otherwise, they are a part of what makes us human, unlike robots!

Ironically, an effort is being made to trigger emotions in robots now! It is very interesting to see that we think humans are limited, so, we create “superior” robots. And then, we try to make them “human” by making them like humans!

The world is a crazy place! We never accept God’s perfect creation. We think we know better!

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Self-esteem

Life is not about feeling threatened, politicking and one upmanship. As long as we are in that space, our toxicity will pile up and will take longer to leave us when we start trying. It CAN happen very quickly if we realize deeply that we have to LET GO every polluted thought, against others and equally so, against ourselves.

The culprits are always within us: self-criticism, void, low self-esteem and confidence, the “I am incapable” / “I am not good enough” syndrome and more….

We have all been fashioned in the image of God, to fulfil some requirement. Instead, we don’t trust and flounder amidst our identity woes. Someone whose life seems perfect may have several challenges you don’t know about. Just minding our own store can upgrade us to the next levels.

That’s all we CAN do.

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Confidence

I guess many of us have had the experience of our friendliness being misinterpreted as “over familiarity”. It stops you in your tracks for a minute! And you begin to wonder where that came from! Very often after that, you start closing yourself up to new entrants in your life because you don’t want to be misunderstood yet again.

But honestly! Aren’t we blocking our natural flow in the bargain? At the end of the day, it is our intentions which are important, aren’t they? If these are ok, I guess we are ok as well, and we don’t really need to become guilt ridden at every reaction of people to us, people who probably are insecure and or uncomfortable in their own skin.

I find that our biggest bug bear can be social relationships. We find it so difficult to honestly say,” this is the way I am. Take it or leave it”. Learning from experiences is one thing and criticizing yourself unnecessarily for what you need not, is another. And this confidence makes a huge difference. For then, you are steady in one place. People will go around you and those who want to stop because they know your worth, will stop, just as you will do the same for others. It is that simple! We need to know who we are.

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.comSpeakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Circumstance

Everyone has difficult circumstances to tackle in life. But, it is disturbing to see so many people developing a victim mentality. Worse still, making their victim card a weapon and playing it to their advantage to gain sympathy.

Today, we need more courage than ever before. Life is fast and no one has the time. We need to do things for ourselves because the support systems of families and elders is crumbling. To blame life is completely futile. Nothing just “happens”. The fatalistic card of “woe is me” can only mean defeat /lack of motivation to get up and walk again.

There will always be supporters around you in strange ways though you may never see them as such out of wallowing in self-pity and confused feelings. I have seen many an olive branch by well-meaning people, rejected again and again.

Actually, you can beat yourself up all your life, with comparisons, maybe for bad decisions made or a karmic onslaught, branding yourself as “unlucky” or whatever.  But you know what? It only makes it worse. Only you can turn your life around.

Again and again, I come back to the courage needed to transform a negative pattern of thought to an “I can do it” mode. It is hard work and sometimes, many tears before you smile again.  But that one smile is worth the tears preceding it.

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Perspective

The mantra for life, I have discovered, is “that was THEN, this is NOW”.

If we reflect on our thoughts, how much of our thinking patterns come from past experiences? A maximum percentage, I would imagine.

We judge people from past experiences.

Our relationships, more often than not, are dictated by the past experiences too.

Our trust factor also comes with time, again only from the past.

Our behavior stems from early conditioning.

Our guilt comes from what we did wrong earlier.

Our lack of forgiveness is because someone has hurt us and that becomes a negative past memory.

So, the past, which is really a ghost, rules over us even though it has passed.

It is incredible that we still won’t let go. Irrational that we won’t give our present a chance. The more we read about living in the NOW, the less we actually do. The past has occupied so much space within us. It actually lives there; like the cobwebs we have no time to clean. We are so busy planting pretty fences and flowers in a garden which is full of weeds.

Popularly said, “nowhere” can be changed with a new perspective, “NOW HERE”. But our mind is here and there all the time. Never in the NOW.

Awaken, people, to what we are doing to ourselves during our life here! Improving every moment in the present, trying to clean each such moment is the only thing we can do.

As we clean, and declutter, we create new spaces to attract the energy which can change our lives and bring in what we call miracles”.

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari

Comparison

I have found “c’est la vie” to be a wonderful way to live. “So be it!” Imagine, if we could use this in our daily lives! How much stress and strife we could avoid in matters which are really beyond our control!

But, oh no! We will fight every inch of the way to turn the circumstances and people in our favor and kill ourselves in the bargain, while God has the last laugh at our silly egos!

We always get “enough” for our sustenance. There is a reason for everything. Cursing is not going to help. Comparisons are going to help even less. A raging battle within us will kill our positivity and our initiatives.

Sometimes, life is as clear as the sun shining brightly. And sometimes, it is a cloudy sky. C’est la vie. Unnatural circumstances like Covid forced us indoors. Did grumbling / crying help? Ultimately, we had to buckle down to the lifestyle demanded by those times. Something will happen against your wishes often. These are challenges to see how we respond / react. The aura is our space and to keep a clean aura, without letting negativity in, is the sanest thing we can do for ourselves.

So, let go! Let it be! So be it! These are miracle phrases if we can practice them. We all have a rightful place in this world, just not necessarily where WE want to be.

Surekha Kothari

www.BodyMindSoulCentre.com

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari