Category: Thoughts

Is destiny pre-written or is the course of our lives in our own hands by virtue of our power of choice?

I believe destiny is the default setting, and choice is our ability to customize.

Life is like a game of cards; the hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will.
— Jawaharlal Nehru

It does not matter what one believes though.  That would be akin to being concerned about the lock and neglecting the key.  The key being acceptance of the situation, regardless of it being pre-destined or brought about by the exercise of our own choices.

What we believe, is of no consequence, if we do not use such belief to achieve the effect it is designed to deliver – that of acceptance of our situation.

Belief is a tool for achieving effects; it is not an end in itself.
— Peter Carroll

Anything and everything you hear from supportive family and friends, read in books or online, or understand through analytical thinking is moot, as those are no more than means to justify to your mind why things are the way they are.  They are not solutions.

The bottom line, after you have changed what you can’t accept, is to  ultimately make peace with your situation by accepting the culminating product of your choices.

Change what you can’t accept and accept what you can’t change.

When life is out of control, hopelessness sets in and one wonders how will life go on, remember the answer, “One day at a time”.

As long as one is motivated, the key to accomplishing any task that is overwhelming due to its magnitude, appears unattainable or beyond one’s ability, is, ‘one step at a time’.

If I were to plan to startup a hotel, I should only think of first taking up a job at one or doing a hotel management course.  Or a smaller baby step, like researching where I want to study.  Not think about hiring staff for my hotel, worry about potential competition or how to achieve occupancy.  That would overwhelm me and would be counter-productive.

If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it’s not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.
— His Holiness The Dalai Lama XIV

Worrying is worthless. When you stop focusing on what has already happened and what may never happen, then you’ll be in the present moment. Then you’ll begin to experience joy in life.
— Brian Weiss

Here’s a story – A couple were worrying about their upcoming journey that required them to cross a rickety makeshift bridge.  From well before the journey and through the trip, they kept worrying if the bridge would give way when they would attempt to cross it.  When they got to the bridge, they saw that the makeshift bridge had been replaced by a sturdy, permanent one.  Thus their worrying was needless and they ruined their days and nights prior to and the entire journey over it.  Hence they say,

Cross the bridge when you get to it.

When you’re feeling threatened by things that haven’t happened yet, remember these words:

Some of your hurts you have cured,
And the sharpest you still have survived,
But what torments of grief you endured
From the evil which never arrived.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

The concept of having one “special someone” in one’s life is a recipe for devastation that would result from when such person is no longer in one’s life. Instead we need to expand that circle to include everyone, even connecting with strangers. Draw larger circles so the world is one’s family. The more emotional intimacy we share with others, the happier will we be.

I believe that the purpose of life is to be happy.  Happiness comes from:

(a)  accepting unhappiness as being a part of life, not hating or fighting against it. Hate being a negative emotion causes more unhappiness. The fact that there are ups and downs in life like an electrocardiogram, is proof that one is living; without that one would flatline.

(b)  being connected to other people, even strangers. Connection comes from intimacy. Intimacy comes from sharing, whether it be in the form of communication or being of service. The keys to communication and service, are honesty and compassion. If one is honest, one has nothing to hide, and thus being fearless removes any barriers to communication. Compassion helps us see and feel things from the other person’s point of view, hence the biblical saying,

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
 

“One great question underlies our experience, whether we think about it or not: what is the purpose of life? From the moment of birth every human being wants happiness and does not want suffering. Neither social conditioning nor education nor ideology affects this. From the very core of our being, we simply desire contentment. Therefore, it is important to discover what will bring about the greatest degree of happiness.”
— His Holiness The Dalai Lama XIV

“I believe the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in that religion or this religion, we are all seeking something better in life. So, I think, the very motion of our life is towards happiness…”
— His Holiness The Dalai Lama XIV, The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World

Women taunt men at large that they never grow up. Some make clever remarks like, “Age – few women admit theirs and few men act theirs”.

If men were to grow up mentally, they would no longer need things to play with or put in their mouth. So they would no longer need to pursue women. Love without physical intimacy, on the other hand, can be had in other types of relationships. Reproduction would be a medical procedure with child-ownership legal contracts and sperm and egg trading auctions replacing the romance industry. Needless to say, women would lose their only leverage over men and the edge to make sarcastic remarks as a form of entertainment.

If men (and women) were to grow up spiritually, they would not crave the affection and emotional intimacy of one “special someone”.

So, do women really want men to grow up? Of course not. Men are most advantageous as dependent children.

The world around us is but a larger scale manifestation of the world within us. Our beings are self-contained worlds of their own with metaphorical governments, and corporations that control them. We determine the course of our lives by voting for the political party or candidate that best serves our needs, as in subscribing to a certain philosophy. We can choose to curb the power of the greedy corporation, our minds, that dictate how our government, our life is run, by seizing control of the corporation. We can acquire a controlling interest by systematically purchasing stock over time, which is akin to acquiring discipline over a training period. We can discipline our minds by deprivation of what our minds crave most, as oil producing countries control other countries.

It is my understanding that the Winter Solstice of 21 December 2012 marks the beginning of Dwapara Yuga or the Bronze Age of civilization, and all that it entails.

Yes, I expect natural calamities to cause mass destruction of population in a way that it benefits the planet and the remainder of human civilization – like Spring Cleanup as we leave Kali Yuga or the Iron Age, which is akin to the cold dreary Winter in terms of human spiritual development.

Survivors in the aftermath would, as per my strong belief, be more spiritually evolved and more aware of their oneness with creation.

Personally, I have undergone tremendous lifestyle changes over the past nine months, almost exactly since the Summer Solstice of June 2009. Over the past four months, since sometime prior to the Winter Solstice of December 2009 (at which time we were about three years away from 21 December 2012), the transformative energies have intensified and I believe I have emerged a more spiritually evolved person. As such I am looking forward to what I believe would be the beginning of a wonderful new life, as I have always felt that I was born in the wrong Yuga.

21 December 2012 is when the Earth’s equatorial plane would align exactly with the galactic centre; the midpoint between the Age of Pisces (just over 1,986 years ending on 21 December 2012) and the Age of Aquarius (2,130 years until 4142). We are entering the Age of Aquarius, during which time the solar system is going to be inside the photon belt, and photonic energy is considered divine energy.

My son was born at the midpoint of Aquarius and Pisces and his astrological chart indicates that he is an Aquarian. His Indian name means, “The Reign of Truth”. When he was born, his doctor commented that he looked like the Dalai Lama. He has always been an extraordinary person and wise beyond most people. He too feels he does not belong in this era. I cannot then help but hypothesize that the purpose of my life is to raise my son, who is destined to be a significant contributor in the new world.