Seeker?

When we begin our journey to 'Know Thyself', each one of us takes a different path , but we all remain seekers. Then somewhere along the journey, we get to 'know' our true nature. We come face to face with it.....calling it an enlightenment/ awakening/ realizing our Buddha Nature or Krishna Consciousness etc. But the journey doesn't end there; now our focus shifts from 'seeking' to 'expressing' that True Nature, especially through the arising of negative emotions or myriad pains of the body.......Yes, we continue to experience these afflictions of the mind/ body organism,  but without getting caught up in their stories!!

At this stage of my journey, I don't resonate with the word 'seeker' any more........I am more an EXPRESSION of my inner Truth.........and so it is!!!

Guidance

When it comes to guiding people on the spiritual path or providing life coaching, most people think that we have to lead perfect lives with all our stuff in place, all sorted out, at all times. This is the ‘guru’ trap. A guru has to be perfect! Those who buy into this trap, stay stuck in it, until they remember that there is no end to learning.

Everyone, at whatever space in their own journey, can find someone who can learn from their experience and vice-versa. That is why I prefer the term ‘sharing’ to ‘teaching’. All teachers actually share their knowledge and wisdom; how much of it gets across to a student depends upon that student and his/her inclinations! Similarly, all teachers continue to learn more and more, not only about their own subject but many other subjects as well. Any teacher who stops learning stops growing; and that is next to impossible!

There is no stage when we can declare, ‘Now I have arrived. Now there is nothing to learn. I know everything. My life is all fixed. Now I can be of service to others.’

The fact remains that while we may master certain areas of our life, we still remain students in some other areas. This is a beautiful and sacred process of helping and seeking help. On this journey, we can offer support and guidance to someone who has not yet travelled on that path, and seek support on the path that we are yet to travel.

Putting the pressure upon ourselves (or others) of being perfect and ‘knowing it all’ before being ready to share is nothing but a self-sabotaging trap. We all are works in progress. And it is okay to be incomplete/ vulnerable/ fearful/ uncertain while sharing our gifts with others.

It helps to remember that perfection is a mirage; and yet, we are perfect the way we are in the present moment. And it is fun to share our journey with others; even when we are struggling with our own baggage! 

Growth and Evolution

In order to understand why ‘bad’ things happen to ‘good’ people, we need to get clear about why things happen in the first place? Why are we here on planet earth? Why is our planet a place of duality where positive and negative energies reside in equal measure? Why do we need to learn our so-called life lessons?

The answer to all the above questions is just one- we are here on planet earth because we as souls freely chose to be here. It was our CHOICE! Something like choosing to join a school, study a particular subject, take up a particular adventure, face a particular challenge etc. If we wish to grow and evolve, we need to challenge ourselves and expand beyond our comfort zones. That is exactly what souls (you and I) are doing on earth. We are challenging ourselves in order to grow/ evolve/ expand. And all that can’t happen if we remain in our comfort-zones! Simple!

When we experience the so-called bad things, we not only get a taste of what negativity feels like but also understand what its opposite, the so-called good feels like. Earth is the only place where this experiment is going on- the rest of the universe (where we have come from) exists in benign loving energy (and that is our default home state too).

As we grow and evolve we learn that most negative situations get resolved when we use the tool of self-love (I accept myself and this situation. I am grateful to myself and this situation. I forgive myself and this situation etc); however, there are some situations that demand that we face them courageously and squarely; and in the bargain learn how to live with them until the death of this current physical body.

Yes, negative situations bring about ‘fear’ in us, but when the fear comes we need to look for some lesson in the fearful situation. Someone has rightly said, “Whenever we feel fearful about something, it is an indication that our soul wants us to understand some things.”

Happy growing and evolving!