June 1st Daily Meditation Writing: Soul

You are reading the ongoing writing process for a new book of daily reflections/meditations. Already published by this author is “Cast A Long Shadow”, 90 daily reading for our journey through life. This book is available direct from the publisher, and also on Amazon.com.

Soul

 

Is this all there is?

Is the only point in life to make as much money as possible? Is it true that “life’s a bitch, and then you die”?

Some would tell us that this is the case – that we just machines which react as we are programmed to react.

And yet such an explanation of the human condition is unsatisfactory, because it ignores our human condition.

I am not saying that religious organizations have a complete answer to everything, nor that science cannot teach us anything – the facts are otherwise.

Religion once told us that the world was flat, that slavery was an acceptable form of business, and that women should not vote. Science produces theory after theory on how things work, each one promoted as the truth, until another theory comes along.

And so if one party tells us we have a soul, and the other that we do not, who are we to believe?

I think the answer is to trust ourselves, and try to keep away from assumptions.

Because what does it really mean, to have a soul?

For me, It is a word I use to express the essence of a person, that is distinct from, but connected to their body.

When a close friend dies, even the most hardened of atheists will often say that the person is “looking down on them”, that something about them is still here. There is the deep human feeling that we are not alone, that some essence of the person is still with us.

For many of us, the questions of what or of or how are irrelevant, because we know, deep inside us, that there is something more than just the physical.

I have experienced this, and yet I know that the experience was personal to me, I cannot convince a doubter of how it felt or what I now feel. And nor do I need to – we all have our own path to walk, and none of us have a monopoly on truth.

For now, it is enough to know in myself, and continue the journey.

Todays Meditation word: Alone

I’m currently away from the computer – here is an copy of an old “Daily Thought” until I return!

Alone

We humans are social creatures. Maybe there are one or two individuals who can meet all their own needs all by themselves in some deserted part of this planet, but even the simple hunter/gatherers in the deepest rain forest interact with each other.

And so the concept of being alone can be odd to us. In our modern world, many of us surround ourselves with the appearance of other people by having the television or radio on when we are physically alone. Others are discontented unless they are surrounded by people.

But just being with people, or seeing their images or hearing their voices is different from being with them. And yet some of the times we feel most alone are when we are surrounded by people. Being alone in our own home can be comforting and safe. When we are in a crowd of people with whom we have nothing in common, it is then that we can feel most alone.

This is not the same as “being lonely”, even though the two often go hand in hand. If, for example, we eat alone in a restaurant full of couples and families, we may not feel lonely because of the noise and cheerful banter, but we can feel acutely alone, just because of all the other people there. Walking in the woods or on the sea-shore, in contrast, we can feel a sense of oneness with the world, and not the aloneness of just being one.

The fundamental thing we need to remember is that being alone is not, in itself, a good or a bad thing; it is in our reaction to it that is important.

All of us will probably find ourselves being alone at different times in our lives, and these moments or hours or days can be a blessing or a curse – depending on how we react.

Being alone can be an opportunity to reflect and meditate, as well as a time to fill with the things we need to do.

So, when you come to periods of being alone, look for the blessing that can come just from within us, and embrace the feeling.

Todays Meditation word: Alone

Alone

 

We humans are social creatures. Maybe there are one or two individuals who can meet all their own needs all by themselves in some deserted part of this planet, but even the simple hunter/gatherers in the deepest rain forest interact with each other.

And so the concept of being alone can be odd to us. In our modern world, many of us surround ourselves with the appearance of other people by having the television or radio on when we are physically alone. Others are discontented unless they are surrounded by people.

But just being with people, or seeing their images or hearing their voices is different from being with them. And yet some of the times we feel most alone are when we are surrounded by people. Being alone in our own home can be comforting and safe. When we are in a crowd of people with whom we have nothing in common, it is then that we can feel most alone.

This is not the same as “being lonely”, even though the two often go hand in hand. If, for example, we eat alone in a restaurant full of couples and families, we may not feel lonely because of the noise and cheerful banter, but we can feel acutely alone, just because of all the other people there. Walking in the woods or on the sea-shore, in contrast, we can feel a sense of oneness with the world, and not the aloneness of just being one.

The fundamental thing we need to remember is that being alone is not, in itself, a good or a bad thing; it is in our reaction to it that is important.

All of us will probably find ourselves being alone at different times in our lives, and these moments or hours or days can be a blessing or a curse – depending on how we react.

Being alone can be an opportunity to reflect and meditate, as well as a time to fill with the things we need to do.

So, when you come to periods of being alone, look for the blessing that can come just from within us, and embrace the feeling.

Todays Meditation word: Self

Self

 

Sometimes we are happy with who we are – we are content with who we are and what we achieve.

But sometimes too, we find ourselves looking for ourselves in others opinions of us. Particularly when we’re not feeling so positive, we can only see us as a reflection of others – does this person like us? What can we do to show them the best of us so that they do like us?

And this thinking can easily turn sour, because people are just people, and we cannot be all things to everyone. As hard as it is to accept sometimes, you are not the centre of everyone else’s universe.

We can’t make people like me – to be sure, we can pretend this or that – we can “people please” and do what we think other people want of us. But that kind of manipulation takes a whole lot of effort, and if it succeeds, then we have a whole other problem of keeping up that pretence.

I have tried this often enough to know that it doesn’t work. I can’t control other’s opinions of me – and, in any case, they are none of my business.

And yet our society often encourages us to be this sort of chameleon character; to play a part with this person, another one with this. To show our real self is to open ourselves up for hurt and rejection, and so many of us hide behind a pretend self that is confident and self-assured. And this does protect us from some harm, but it also leaves us unable to know what our true self is. Many people resort to addictive behaviors to escape the inner feelings and keep up this facade, but even then, the hurt can break through.

For all of us, part of the journey is to realize when we are seeking for ourselves in others, and to remember that this is futile. We must be true to who we are and look for the good that is our true self.

That doesn’t mean that we need to be harsh with other people, or to push our opinions down their throats. Quite the reverse, because this degree of self-worth is totally an inside job – you liking me or not, agreeing with me or not, respecting me or not – all these things are irrelevant when my worth as a human being comes from within me.

If we respect and like ourselves, then we are more likely to get respect and liking from others. And if we do not get that respect and liking, then it will not affect our inner being, because we are not relying on other people’s opinions.

It is a much smoother ride on the journey of life, if all we need concern ourselves with is us.

Todays Meditation word: Unique

Unique

There is an old saying: “remember you’re unique – just like everyone else”. Whilst this is supposed to be amusing, it also covers a very important point.

I am unique – there is only one person who is exactly like me. There is no one else that has had just this set of life experiences. Not only are my fingerprints unique, so is everything else about my physical and emotional make up.

At the same time, I’m just like everyone else – I need to breathe eat and sleep just like everyone else. I’m very similar to anyone else brought up in a suburb of a major capital city: I’ve listened to the same music, watched the same TV programs, and lived through the same events.

So how do we resolve this unique/same issue?

Well, in my life I’ve made the same mistakes that other people have made – only I did them in my way. I’ve found joy in the same sort of things that others do – but I found my own joy in them, and did not experience other people’s feeling.

To a casual observer, my life and relationships will look the same as countless other people who share my gender and general physical make up. But that is only superficially true, because all of the assumptions about my life are based on your experience of living your life.

An example of this is the medium I’m using here – the written word. If you are reading this you and I share the same basic language, we can both read and write English. But we bring our own personalities to the written word – I write this in one way, and you would write the self-same thing in different words.

Even more interesting, you and I can read the same thing and get different meanings from it, depending on our own experience with a certain word, or a certain meaning. My understanding of any word will be shaped by my experience of that word in the past, which will be different from anyone else’s experiences of it.

This is the great thing we need to remember – we don’t really live in an objective reality – the world we live in is experienced through a filter – the filter of our own experiences and assumptions.

And this is the real reason we are all unique – because we all live in our own universe – a world that we have created from the sum total of our experiences.

Todays Meditation word: Joy

Joy

 

What is joy?

In our modern world we often confuse this with happiness, with always smiling, with laughter and good times.

We can, indeed, find joy in those things, but joy is a much deeper phenomenon.

We can be full of joy even when we are sad, crying or fearful.

Joy is within us, and although influenced by externals, it is something we can hold on to whatever befalls us. Equally, if we have no joy in our soul, even the happiest of occasions will only cheer us temporarily, because such moments are transitory – soon the laughter will stop, and then what?

The feeling of joy is more akin to contentment than to happiness – it is something that lives deep within us, and is not so subject to the vacillations of day-to-day life.

When something bad happens to us – as it does to all of us from time to time – an inner joy will allow us to come through it with more equanimity. When something good happens – and that too, is part of the human experience – joy allows us to take pleasure in it all the more.

Joy has been likened to a life buoy – if we are adrift in the ocean, we are at the mercy of the storms, and we may, from time to time go under the waves. But if we are wearing a life buoy, we will always end up being brought to the surface and to safely.

So it is when we have joy in our hearts – we may still be tossed by the storm, but our inner joy will bring us through to calmer waters.

And I believe it is possible to build up joy in our lives – even if we don’t see anything to be joyful for at this moment in time, even now we can start to grow in that direction.

If we really have no joy right now, we can look for things to be joyful about, no matter how petty they may seem. Just to take time to notice the color of the sky, or to feel the breeze on our skin can start to build up the joy inside of us. To sit and contemplate all we have – rather than all we don’t have – will also build on that joy.

This may be hard at first – we may have programmed ourselves to look only for the negative and be “comfortable” living in that state. We may need to keep coming back to the things that build up joy, even when we don’t want to.

Living in joy is one way we can really fulfill our own person potential – to live life as it is, one day at a time.

Todays Meditation word: Centre

Centre

At one time or another, we all feel that we are at the centre of the universe. Also at times we feel that we are far removed from the centre of things, way away in a locked room at the far end of a dark corridor.

Sometimes we feel that we are at the centre of life; that all things come together in us. We may feel this spiritually, when we have been working hard on our soul life; or more humanly, when we seem to be friends with the whole world, and everyone wants to be part of us.

And then there are times when we feel so far from the centre that it seems we can’t even see it from here. Times when we feel isolated and alone, when no matter what we do, others seem to be inaccessible to us, and we face the void alone.

And yet there is a greater truth here somewhere, because both of these things are true.

In one sense we are all the centre of the universe – because we all create our own universe in our minds. In that way it really is all about me, because the world as I know it – the universe my mind creates – only happens when I observe it. How could it be otherwise? People and places I don’t know about, I don’t know about – they don’t exist in my mind.

But this extreme manifestation of self is tempered in us by understanding others. For we see that they too have their own world view, their own set of beliefs and expectations.

And this shows us that we are not alone and outcast. We are all part of the greater whole, sometimes being at the centre of things, and sometimes merely bit-players. However isolated we feel at times, we can recognize that this too is an expression of self-will run riot. We can never be truly cut off from others, as we are all parts of each others stories.

We are all in the void, traveling our own paths. But we are also all together, affecting and being affected by others.

We are all at the centre of things, because now is all we have.

Todays Meditation word: Stories

Stories

 

We all have stories to tell, even those of us who feel that we are not at all “interesting”.

Because, whatever our story, it is just ours, nobody else’s. Only I have my exact set of experiences to tell; only you have yours.

How we tell that story differs with time, and from hearer to hearer.  When I go to a business meeting, my story is about my business experience; at a social gathering it will be about the common interests we have; at a family gathering, about the family and its history.

And yet these are not separate and distinct stories, not different people all within the one frame. They are just different facets of the same story – edited highlights, if you will, that illuminate one part of the whole.

The story of our lives are all about interconnections and how we interact with others’ stories.

And our stories are made more compelling and more interesting because we cannot tell one part from another. Friends have become family; families have become part of our work life; work associates have become friends.

Our stories can disclose to others a part of what we are like – or can be used to hide behind. We can sometimes – either deliberately or by accident – promote a picture of ourselves that is untrue. This may be because of a fear of self-revelation, or a real feeling that we are not good enough.

We may seek to sound better than we are; that we have done more, seen more, experienced more.

But when we do that it can quickly become complicated. We can lose sight of who we really are by creating a façade that we have to protect at all cost.

Apart from anything else, living a story that is not ours is tiring! We have to remember what we have said to whom, and hope that those we tell different stories to do not meet. Whilst honesty may or may not always be the best policy, it is always easier.

Our stories define who we are – all unique, all having different perspectives and experiences.

Let us celebrate our stories – all of them – and continue to listen to the stories of others.

Todays Meditation word: Beauty

Beauty

 

Every new parent thinks that their child is the most beautiful in the world. Every newlywed thinks that their new partner is the most beautiful person they have seen. And yet to other people, this is just another cute baby, another nice looking couple.

Beauty seems to be always what we think it is. One only has to look at the way people have been portrayed over the years – from the classical paintings of the 17^th century, to the pin-ups of today – to see how the definition of beauty changes with our tastes.

So is there no external measure of if something is beautiful or not? Surly we can all agree on some things?

I guess there are some things everyone can agree on – but these tend to be things that are external to our human condition.

When we see a sunset over the ocean, or the early morning mist rising from a pasture, we can all agree that this is a beautiful sight.

But I wonder, even here, if we are all-seeing the same beauty. For one person, the sunset will invoke deep spiritual feelings, and be a time for reflection and meditation. For another, it is just a light show, and when it’s done, it will be time for the next thing.

Maybe therefore the real secret of beauty is that it is intensely personal, and comes from our innermost soul.

When we look at our own new-born baby, its beauty is not just that of another infant child. This feels to us very like a miracle, that out of the love that our partner and we share, another human has been created. After the anxiety and worry of the last nine months, finally the child is here, and that only adds to the beauty in our eyes.

When we stand to take our marriage vows, it is not just the other person we see, but the memories of our times together up to now, and our hopes for our futures together. The gown and the suit may be the things that the guests notice, but to the couple themselves it is the whole person, body and soul.

And so it seems to me that beauty is something we experience not just with our senses, not just because of the input from our eyes. It is not just a thing that can be categorized and organized.

Beauty cannot be pre-defined, because we bring to our appreciation of it all our memories, fears and hopes.

Beauty is in the soul of the beholder.

Todays Meditation word: Self

Self

 

Sometimes I am happy with who I am – I am content with who I am and what I achieve.

But sometimes too, I find myself looking for myself in others opinions of me. Particularly when I’m not feeling so positive, I can only see myself as a reflection of other people – does this person like me? What can I do to show them the best of me so that they do like me?

And this thinking can easily turn sour, because people are just people, and I cannot be all things to everyone. As hard as it is to accept sometimes, I am not the centre of everyone else’s universe. I can’t really make people like me – oh sure, I can pretend this or that – I can “people please” and do what I think other people want of me. But that kind of manipulation takes a whole lot of effort, and if it succeeds, then I have a whole another problem of keeping that pretence up when I am with them.

I have tried this often enough to know that it doesn’t work. I can’t control other’s opinions of me – and, in any case, they are none of my business.

And yet our society often encourages us to be this sort of chameleon character; to play a part with this person, another one with this. To show our real self is to open ourselves up for hurt and rejection, and so many of us hide behind a pretend self that is confident and self-assured. And this does protect us from some harm, but it also leaves us unable to know what our true self is. Many people resort to addictive behaviors to escape the inner feelings and keep up this façade, but even then, the hurt can break through.

For me, part of my journey is to realize when I am seeking for myself in others, and to remind myself that this is futile. I must be true to who I am and look for myself in myself; look for the good that is really me.

That doesn’t mean that I have to be harsh with other people, or to push my opinions down their throats. Quite the reverse, because this degree of self-worth is totally an inside job – you liking me or not, agreeing with me or not, respecting me or not – all these things are irrelevant when my worth as a human being comes from within me.

In a discussion about a topic, I can state my case, and do so strongly if that is appropriate. I can even point out where I think your opinion s faulty if that seems a good idea. But when I am unsure of myself, I need you to change your mind in order for me to feel better, and this is when I can end up hurting myself as well as others.

If I respect and like myself, then I am more likely to get respect and liking from others – but if not, then it does not affect my inner being, because I’m not relying on other people’s opinions. It is a much smoother ride on the journey of life, if all I need concern myself with is me.