Language

What is the voice within?

We are so into everything that we have been led to understand so much that we have forgotten the fundamentals of life itself. When we were first born, everything was clear. The slightest movement means a whole lot more than just a movement. Life was simple.

What happened to ourselves? What made things seemingly so simple become a whole different story as time goes by?

Changes happen. Changes happen in all directions. We have been taught that there are three dimensions in our world. Thus come the very common phrase when everything seems to be not working for us… we are pulled from left right center. If you decipher carefully this phrase, it is just linear. Everything that we have been taught, our minds see as one single line, even though we learn so much in school that we live in a three dimensional world.

How do we pull ourselves out from such misleading phrases in life? Perhaps you would be thinking to make the dimensions yourself through the words that you use to phrase things differently. But then, the phrase will sound awkward… we are pulled horizontally vertically diagonally. These are very huge words to use when thinking of a situation we are in.

What is being described in our text books may be the knowledge that has been passed down through generations of scientific research. Parts of them may be true but a bulk of them still remain open to discussion, if we may. Mainstream history and science may not buy into any new ideas that do not fit into the existing journals. Whatever that is written seems to be hard fixed in the common people’s lives.

Why are we limiting ourselves into the theories of others?

We are all individuals. We are capable of having our own mindset. We have the power to influence ourselves to become our better selves. It is all in the mind. But there seems to be something missing out there. How do we actually do that?

Have you ever been in a room with a hundred people? When a person walks in, you can straightaway identify if the person is of caliber or not. That feeling is almost instantaneous. There is no explanation needed.

I remember a story told to me some years ago. An experiment done by a person of caliber to test if majority of the humans are depending on visual or seeing through their heart. The room is full. A man in suit walks in and the entire crowd cheered upon him thinking that he is the person of caliber that they are looking forward to listen to. And so the person did the entire presentation effectively. During the questions and answers session, a participant rose with a question that the person could not answer. Then, the person redirected to say that the answer is so simple, even my driver can answer it, pointing to another man that did not look like anyone important.

Our five senses love to play tricks on us, especially our eyes. Whatever we see we will think is the absolute truth. In actual fact, the man on stage was the driver while that uninteresting man sitting amongst the audience was the person everyone should look up to. Moral of the story is to always feel with your heart, not to let your five senses block the most important sixth sense in you.

Listen to yourself. Travel within to look deeper into what you are really looking for. What is the first question you ask yourself every single day? What is that question that you thought is not important and yet is shaping your life? What are you looking for?

Always ask questions. Even when the questions seem redundant. Even when the questions seem repeated. Even when the questions seem unimportant. What are we doing here? What is our purpose in this life? Are we really who we see everyday in the mirror? What is our destiny? Where do we come from? Which direction are we heading to? This world that we live in, is it really existent or it is all in our imagination?

No language can describe our life if we let go of all the barriers we have been setting up our entire lifetime.

 

The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.

Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (Ludwig Wittgenstein), Austrian-British philosopher, 1889-1951

Enlightenment

A relaxed body, mind, and soul.

When you wake up in the morning and you feel at peace with everything. This is the best feeling ever. It is as if nothing else matters. It is as if everything in your life is as is because you want it to be. Everything is already in place for you. Everything you need you already have.

How many times have you ever had this feeling? If it is daily, congratulations. Perhaps your life is the ultimate life that everyone want to have. Perhaps you are leading the life of a saint. You can let go of all the sufferings. You can let go of all the happiness and sadness, all the joys and worries. Everything and anything that comes your way, you are able to neutralize to the point it is neither good nor bad.

How many people can achieve such enlightenment? If you think that only a handful, you may be right or wrong. Perhaps it is just the community we are all living in. Whatever everyone does is correct in our perception because majority always wins over minority. Perhaps it is just the environment we are all living in. Whatever we first see every single morning is the absolute truth we are living in.

Sometimes what we see might be true but most of the time it is not. Our eyes love to play tricks on us. Whenever we see something as good, we tend to follow to that same direction without realizing that every effect has its cause, every cause has its course, and every course has its effect. This is a vicious cycle of life. We are all connected whether we believe in it or not.

Connection between all lifeforms and the universe is inevitable. We can never see this with our naked eyes. It can only be felt through deep connection between ourselves and all there is. We, at this modern age lack the connection. The current way of life we are living in almost forbids us to see beyond our eyes. We have been led to believe in something the minority wants us to believe in.

Have you ever questioned the importance of education? This is the one most important part of the life of every living soul. But why are education in classroom settings? Why are certain subjects so important that we must study upon? How about spiritual lessons that have been intentionally left out and replaced with religious studies? What kind of moral are we teaching our children and ourselves?

These are perhaps some of the many questions that you might have asked yourself at some point of time. But because the vast majority are doing the same things, it is only natural for you to stop questioning and go with the norm, in order to be accepted by the society. Your parents told you that good grades secure great paying jobs. This will change your current situation for good.

But… WHO ARE WE?
What are we doing here? What is our purpose here?

If we are just here for the sake of being here then there is no purpose at all. There must be a higher meaning to everything that is in our lives. The next question is perhaps where… Where can we find our purpose of life?

The answer is simple.

Travel within. The only answer to whatever question you have is within. Somehow, we have been led to believe that information technology means everything and will be able to provide answers for any questions we ask. Do you know who are the people feeding the answers to the World Wide Web? They are just regular people like you and me with a slight difference.

They are the people who dare to dream. They are the people who put off all roadblocks in search of the truth. They may sound obscure. Whatever they say may sound too good to be true or too easy to achieve. In this day and life, simplicity is the hardest way of life. We have been trained to think in complicated ways. We have to let go of the past to live in the present to create the better future.

Life is really simple. Enlightenment comes from within.

 

When we wake up from our confused state of mind, that is enlightenment.

Karma Sungrap Ngedon Tenpa Gyaltsen (Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche), Abbot of Dzogchen Monastery, 1965-present

Deserve

What have you been learning throughout the years?

We have been thought by many teachers along the way to our adulthood. What exactly have we been learning from them? Have they been great teachers? Have we been great students?

Everything happens for a reason and the reason is to help us grow to our better selves. Most often, people love to complain about the situation they are in. Are you that kind of person?

It is time to shift your mind. Think of it as such. Everything and anything around you can actually teach you a lesson. It does not matter whether or not that thing talks and tells you directly the lesson it is trying to teach you. It is all about your own realization. If you observe closely enough and put on your thinking caps, you will notice that everything changes over time. Nobody needs to explain that to you. Nobody can explain that to you. You need to realize it yourself.

Take that light bulb hanging from your ceiling right now. What do you see? At one glance, you probably think it is just a light bulb and it is functioning as a light bulb. Look closer. Observe the difference when it was first bought from the store to now. What is the difference you see? You may not realize but the light may be a little dimmer than before. There is a little more dust collected on it than before. The filament may be a little darker in colour than before. After several years, the filament may have lived its lifetime and the light bulb stops functioning.

What do you learn from the light bulb in your house? It can be bright and shiny when new. It can become old and stale over time. One fine day, it will just stop emitting light. Light bulbs are the icon for the human mind. Most often when we have an idea in our mind, it is like we have turned on the electricity and the bulb is lit. What happens when there is no electricity? What will you have in mind then? What will your life be like then?

Every human is similar. We live, we grow, and there will come a point when we get stuck. This is the turning point. This is the time when we have to decide the next path we choose to take and create. This is the time for change. Change can happen at any point of time but most importantly, change has to happen when you are stuck. If you decide to just stay where you are, you will remain stuck until you are able to see that there is a way out.

What kind of a person are you?

It does not matter how fast you can see the need for change. Most important of all, you really need to take action to change you. You must be willing to do so. When you have decided on the route you want to take, go all in. Sometimes, you may be in total darkness but if you are clear of your destination, light will find you. Somehow, someday, someone may just walk into your life and show you the way. You may or may not know the person at that moment, but it is important that you trust your own instincts.

There will be also people who will try to make believe that the old way is the best way. The stable way is the only way. They may be people you love dearly. They may be people you look up to. They may be people who are always there to hold you when you fall. They may be very important people in your life. Still, your life belongs to you alone. Nobody should have the right to control over your decisions.

What if you do not take action now and you regret later when you see someone succeed?
What if you take action now and you somehow fail to achieve success?
You have to weigh between the two most important questions in your life. Whether or not you will take action is very much dependent on your answers to these questions. Which one is more painful?

Uplift yourself. Learn what you need. Observe what you should. Do what you must. Feel you deserve everything.

 

You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.

Siddhārtha Gautama (Buddha), Ancient Indian philosopher and spiritual teacher, 5th to 4th Century BCE

Reflection

Who am I?

Some people are born with the gift of knowing who they really are, who they want to become, and they have the chance to make their dreams come true. These are probably the lucky few.

Most people, however, either do not know who they really are, or who they want to become, or they do know but they are just not born in the right condition to let them shine. Whatever the reason is we choose to give ourselves, if we dig deep enough, it is usually our emotions that is taking over our mind and controlling over our life.

Have you ever wanted something so bad you are willing to give up anything and everything to get it? As adults, we would probably smile and say that only a child would be as foolish as to throwaway everything he already has in order to pursue something that is uncertain in all ways. Perhaps we would end up living a hell throughout the remaining years in our lives. Perhaps we would succeed and become a notable person in history. People are often bogged down by fear of losing it all.

As a child, you have probably had dreams far beyond imagination. You want to become an astronaut to go see the moon and stars up close. You would probably have built space ships with empty bottles and put a cape on your back to pretend that you can fly to infinity. These are beautiful times when there is nothing to worry about in life. You probably have peers having the same thinking as you do. You form discussion groups and work on projects to make your dreams a reality. You are creative.

What happened to the child in you? What happened to your fearless self?

Over the years, while growing up, you probably have encountered elders telling you of things you should leave behind. Back then, your dreams are important. Somehow, along the way, you need to come back to reality. Your dreams are a total setback and you have kept them locked in the deepest part of you, in a chest with such a huge bolt, it is impossible to unlock it anymore.

You become who you should be. You go to school. You get good results in examinations. You come out to society and you start to work your way up the corporate ladder. You excel in your job. You get promotions all the way up. You find your life partner. You get married and have children of your own. You have a mortgage to pay up. You have your children to bring up. But your dreams have been buried, so deep you can no longer uncover it.

Now your children have all grown to become adults. You are already in your golden years. Your children have children of their own. They are walking your footsteps, to become the person they adore most, you. Perhaps they are living the life of their dreams, perhaps not. Somehow, it does not seem important to have a dream after all. You have your grandchildren to love and show you love. You should be fulfilled.

As age catches up, health declines. You are not in the hospital bed. You have all the time to flash back in your younger days. You talk about those days a lot. You suddenly realize that there is something missing. Despite the happy and smooth life that you have had, there is still a void within. What is that? Why are you feeling emptiness inside when you already have what others say as a complete life?

It is your dreams.

You have been living the perfect life in the eyes of everyone but you are not living the life of your own. You look in the mirror, you see your face but you do not see the truth inside of you.
You look in the mirror, you see your body but you do not see the life you lead.
You look in the mirror, you see everything down to the acne but you cannot see through your soul.
You are you, nobody can change that. Have you been true to yourself? Or are you just merely being someone you are not?

Who is the person you see in the reflection?
Who is the person you really are?

 

Why is my reflection someone I don’t know?

Hua Mulan (花木蘭), Female warrior from the Northern and Southern dynasties era