Surroundings of Z Meditation Center at Dharamsala, India - How Does It Look Like?

"In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they're still beautiful." ~ Alice Walker

Lesson #1 - Meditation is a Two Step Process

Meditation is a two-step process - journey and destination.
The ultimate goal of meditation is the realization of the Self. The Self is your very own being - your soul, the substance you are made of.

It is like a lake that is covered by dirt and whose waters are restless. You can see the bottom only when the dirt is removed and agitations subside.
~Ajay

"The world is not a problem; the problem is your unawareness" ~ Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

Lesson #2 - Where there is awareness, there cannot be suffering..

The substance of at least ninety-five percent of our experiences is our own imaginations because we spend all this time of our lives in dreaming!
All our suffering is happening in dreams only! Where there is awareness, there cannot be suffering.

When dream thoughts are there, one's awareness sleeps and when awareness awakens, dreaming disappears..

~ Ajay

"My work is not about changing a world I cannot change. It's about touching the lives that touch mine in a way that makes a difference." ~ Unknown

Lesson #3 - Illusion of incompleteness..

All of us wish to achieve a state of completeness and fulfillment. It is only when this state of inner wholeness is experienced that one can be truly happy.

There are 2 imaginary equations of incompleteness that we believe in:
I + X  = Completeness
I - X   = Incompleteness

The same X giving happiness now and unhappiness at another time.

'I + X = C' belief creates an imaginary void in the beginning itself. One then starts living in a chase mode to fill up that void.

Even when the void is temporarily filled up, the understanding that 'there must be a void to be filled up' is not given up.

One just keeps running from one object to another all the time.

~ Ajay

 

"Life is all about timing... the unreachable becomes reachable, the unavailable become available, the unattainable...attainable. Have the patience, wait it out." ~ Stacey Charter

Lesson #4 - Where can you find happiness?

When the mind is restful,
peace and happiness is experienced.
When the mind is restless,
excitement or unhappiness is experienced.

Happiness is a state of one's own mind. One cannot find it anywhere outside.

It is the mind that needs to be fixed if you want to be happy. Your effort of trying to fix the world instead is not going to serve any purpose.
Have you not tried it enough yet?

~ Ajay

 

"The most important things in life aren't things." ~ Anthony J D'Angelo

Lesson #5 - What happens when we try to change the past or control the future?

Can we ever undo the past? The actual happening is already over and it can never be changed.
We spoil our perfect present by clinging to the futile wish that the past should have been different.

The same with the future also. Another trap of unhappiness! Nobody can control what will happen 3 minutes from now.

Nobody. You can only live up to your best potential in the present. That is your sole obligation.

Just do your best and leave the rest.

Happiness always happens in the present.
If you live in past or future, you are also losing the joy of the moment.
Is it worth it to do so?

~ Ajay

 

"I think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense." ~ Harold Kushner

Lesson #6 - Can running in circles take you to your goal?

In the background of the mind of most of us, the unconscious and futile daydreaming continuously goes on.
 

When such daydreaming is happening, one mistakenly takes it to be reality and therefore, one does not remain aware of the reality of the moment.
 

When one is not aware of the reality of the moment, one's efficiency in the moment reduces considerably.
 

What one could have achieved in less time and using less energy, one takes much more time and energy to do that.

One can only take the best possible thoughtful steps living in the present and in the dharmic direction of the future.

~Ajay

"I look only to the good qualities of men. Not being faultless myself, I won't presume to probe into the faults of others." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Lesson #7 - TARA Day..

My Tara practice today..

I am sitting on the moon and wondering about
1) My life in the last 10 years
2) My life in the next 10 years
3) What is my lesson

 

"Learn to be quiet enough to hear the genuine within yourself so that you can hear it in others." ~ Marian Wright Edelman