​A simple shift in attitude can help us recognise the hidden potential for fulfillment in every event.

There is no secret recipe for happiness and contentment. The individuals who move through life joyously have not necessarily been blessed with lives of abundance, love, success, and prosperity. Such people have, however, been blessed with the ability to take the circumstances they’ve been handed and make them into something great. Our individual realities are coloured by perception — delight and despair come from within rather than without.

Situations we regard as fortuitous please us, while situations we judge inauspicious cause us grief. 

Yet if we can look at all we have accomplished without dwelling on our perceived misfortune and make each new circumstance our own, the world as a whole becomes a brighter place. A simple shift in attitude can help us recognise and unearth the hidden potential for personal and outer world fulfillment in every event, every relationship, every duty, and every setback.

The universe is often an unpredictable and chaotic place, and the human tendency is to focus on the negative and assume the positive will care for itself. But life can be no more or no less than what you make of it. If you are working in a job you dislike, you can concentrate on the positive aspects of the position and approach your work with gusto. What can you do with this job that can turn it around, so you do love it?

When faced with the prospect of undertaking a task you fear, you can view it as an opportunity to discover what you are truly capable of doing. Similarly, unexpected events, when viewed as surprises, can add flavor to your existence. By choosing to love life no matter what crosses your path, you can create an atmosphere of jubilance that is wonderfully infectious. A change in perspective is all it takes to change your world, but you must be willing to adopt an optimistic, hopeful mindset.
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To make a conscious decision to be happy is not enough. You must learn to observe life’s complexities through the eyes of a child seeing everything for the first time. You must furthermore divest yourself of preconceived notions of what is good and what is bad so that you can appreciate the rich insights concealed in each stage of your life’s journey. And you must strive to discover the dual joys of wanting what you have. As you gradually shift your perspective, your existence will be imbued with happiness and contentment that will remain with you forever.

Inspiration borrowed from the Daily OM with gratitude

A deep feeling of gratitude can emerge as we open to the experience of being helped.

​Most of us pride ourselves on our self-sufficiency. We like to be responsible for taking care of ourselves and pulling our own weight in the world. This is why it can be so challenging when we find ourselves in a situation in which we have to rely on someone else. This can happen as the result of an illness, injury, or loss, or even in the case of a positive change. At times like these, it is essential that we let go of our feeling that we should be able to do it all by ourselves and accept the help of others.

The first step is accepting the situation fully as it is.

Too often we make things worse either by trying to do more than we should or by lapsing into feelings of uselessness. In both cases, we run the risk of actually prolonging our dependency. In addition, we miss a valuable opportunity to practice acceptance and humility.

The ego resists what is, so when we move into acceptance we move into the deeper realm of the soul. In needing others and allowing them to help us, we experience the full realisation that we are not on our own in the world. While this may bring up feelings of vulnerability, a deep feeling of gratitude also may emerge as we open to the experience of being helped. This realisation can enable us to be wiser in our service of others when we are called upon to help.
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It takes wisdom and strength to surrender to our own helplessness and to accept that we, just like every other human being, have limitations. The gifts of surrender are numerous. We discover humility, gratitude, and a deepening understanding of the human experience that enables us to be that much more compassionate and surrendered in the world.

Deep gratitude to my most cherished circle who have gathered around me of late. 

To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you. Lewis B. Smedes

Forgiveness does not erase the past, but looks upon it with compassion.

To withhold forgiveness keeps alive emotions of hurt, anger and blame which discolour your perception of life.

To forgive, avoid ruminating on thoughts of being wronged. Rather, trust the power of forgiveness to heal the hurt and pain. By holding on to pain and resentment, you suffer because the sorrow is intensified to keep it alive. Despite people’s perceptions that forgiveness means to forget, its motive is preserved in self-forgiveness and the role you played in co-creating the circumstances.

This does not mean you consented to what transpired. Given your involvement, even as a victim, you forgive yourself regardless of your role. Forgiveness means to let go of dislike, instead of allowing it to eat at you.

In the 2009 film Invictus, Nelson Mandala played by actor Morgan Freeman avows to the African National Congress in a show of defiance, “Forgiveness starts here…Forgiveness liberates the soul… It removes fear, that is why it is such a powerful weapon…The past is the past, we look to the future.”

Remarkably, there’s a close link between negative emotions and illness, documented over the past decade by several leading doctors. Toxic and destructive emotions have the potential to activate certain diseases if we don’t attend to our emotional wellbeing.

It is acknowledged as difficult for us to forgive a perpetrator for wrongdoing and it goes against our moral code. Yet, if you consider it from a greater perspective, forgiveness is associated with your emotional welfare, not merely granting the other person pardon.

“At the end of the day, forgiveness is really not for the other person’s benefit at all — it’s for our own. Regardless of how illogical it may seem at times, it is through unconditional forgiveness that we surrender the past to the past and enter the present, freeing ourselves to stand in the infinite Light that knows how to heal our deepest and most painful wounds,” states author Dennis Merritt Jones.

“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” — Paul Boese

Power is not about exerting our will over others, it is about being in complete truth with yourself

​Many of us don’t really understand what personal power means. We’ve been given the false notion that power is bad — that it’s something we use to exert our will upon others. In fact, when our personal power is intact, we are neither overbearing nor meek. We have a clear sense of our strength and the impact we can have on others. This actually enables us to be more sensitive.

Personal power is what permits us to work on behalf of our dreams and desires. It allows us to realise that we are worthy and deserve to be heard. In addition, our personal power lets us extend the respect we know that we deserve to the people around us. There is no reason to be afraid or ashamed of fully owning your power.

In the body's energy system, the solar plexus is the seat of personal power. One way to evaluate your sense of power is to breathe into this part of the body. If it feels tight or nervous, it is an indication that you may not be fully expressing your power. You can heal this imbalance by expanding the area of the solar plexus with your breath. You can also visualise a bright yellow sun in this part of your body. Allow its heat to melt any tension, and let its light dissolve any darkness or heaviness. Repeating this exercise on a regular basis can restore and rejuvenate your sense of power.

Another way to nurture your personal power is to honor your dreams and desires by making concrete plans to manifest them in the world. Start by making a list of things you want, and let yourself think big. Choose one goal from the list and commit to bringing it to fruition. In addition, break the goal into tasks that you can work on each day. Know that you deserve to have your dreams come true and that you have the power to bring them into being.


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Do you ever feel like you're "running on empty" at work?

Maybe you skipped breakfast before working on a big presentation, or you struggled to speak up in a meeting after only a couple of hours' sleep. Perhaps you're emotionally exhausted because you feel like you just don't "fit in."

If so, you've probably encountered the HALT risk states.

HALT stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired.

​The model was first developed to help addicts in recovery see when they were most vulnerable to relapse. Since then, it's been useful for other people, too – both in the workplace, and in their personal lives. This article examines when you need to "call a HALT," and how to act quickly on the warning signs.

What Are the HALT Risk States?
​If you keep trying to work when you're hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, your performance will almost certainly suffer. You may harm your physical and mental health, and you're at risk of damaging your relationships. You'll also be more susceptible to burnout.

The word "HALT" is significant. It's a wake-up call to stop what you're doing and think about some key aspects of your well-being – and to change harmful habits.

The four risk states are interrelated. For example, you may have heard the word "hangry" to describe someone who's irritable (or worse) through lack of food. "Slangry" is also starting to appear – describing a person who's grumpy after a bad night's sleep. But each of the four HALT states can be a serious problem on its own.

How to Spot the HALT Signs
To respond to the HALT risk states, the first step is to recognise them. This means becoming more aware of emotions and behaviors – your own, and those of the people you work with.

Developing your emotional intelligence can help you to notice when you're feeling isolated within your team, for example, or the times when you've lost your "get up and go." It also lets you spot these feelings in others.

Journaling your experiences, thoughts and feelings is a good way to keep track of any potential problems. You can monitor the amount of sleep and exercise you're getting, as well as whether you're eating regularly and healthily. Use your journal to help you spot patterns of negative feelings or behaviors – and clues about what's causing them!

You can also practice mindfulness, to help you become more self-aware. Mindfulness has been shown to develop emotional intelligence. It's a way of observing your thoughts and feelings without getting "carried away" by them.
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If you think a colleague is struggling because of one or more of the HALT states, talk to them, sensitively and in confidence. This might require a difficult conversation, but getting the issue out into the open is the first step toward resolving it.

With love from - mindtools.com www.mindtools.com/acd2ov1/what-are-the-halt-risk-states

When we walk through our fear, we often discover that the strength of our fright was out of sync with reality

The situations, activities, and individuals that frighten us remain static. Their relative intensity does not change. Fear, on the other hand, self magnifies. When you are afraid and envisioning all that might go wrong, the energy underlying your fear grows. A tiny flicker of anxiety can easily develop into a terror that manifests itself physically and eventually paralyses you into inaction.

When we walk through that fear, we often discover that the strength of our fright was out of sync with reality. And we learn that doing what frightens us can lead to great blessings. Confronting your trepidation head-on will help you accept that few frightening scenarios will ever live up to the negative disasters that we sometimes play out in our minds.
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Though fear is literally an evolutionary gift meant to sharpen your senses and energise you during times of great stress, it can become a barrier that prevents you from fulfilling your potential by causing you to miss out on rewarding, life-changing experiences. During the period before you face your fear, you may have to deal with a barrage of negative thoughts and emotions.

Whether your fear is public speaking, taking part in an activity that makes you nervous, or asserting yourself when the odds are against you, walking through it may be equally as difficult. But once you emerge unscathed on the other side, you will likely wonder why you assumed the worst in the first place.

While you spend time worrying about what might happen, it’s good to know that your fear probably won’t happen at all. It may feel like a great weight has been lifted from your shoulders, and you will likely feel a sense of passionate pride. Walking through your fear can mean taking risks and can require both practice and patience. Since it is challenging to act when you are gripped with fear, start small.
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Each step you take into fear will strengthen you and help you confront future fears with poise, courage, and confidence. You also will find that when you are willing to stare your fear in the face, the universe will always offer you some form of aid or support. When you see the heights of accomplishment and personal evolution you can attain when you walk through your fears, your faith in yourself will grow, allowing your next step to be easier.

Shared wisdom from the Daily OM with gratitude. 

Through prayer we can heal both ourselves and others—but there is one condition: the prayer must be selfless

Healing at a distance through what is called remote prayer is possible. The prayer acts in much the same way that a remote control acts. We may not see the connection between the remote control and the television, but the energy being emitted from the source (the remote control device) is being received by the television. If the battery is dead, the remote control will not work. It is the same with remote prayer. Selflessness and unconditional love are the batteries. Without them, the prayer has no power.

According to the Yoga Sutra, the energy emitted from prayer is eternal and cannot be sent forth in vain. This is also the secret of a blessing. Both intense prayer and blessing are at work in the process of an authentic spiritual initiation. You may pick up a mantra from a book and practice it for a long time without seeing much result—but if you receive the same mantra through initiation, you will perceive a distinct difference. Initiation must be accompanied by intense prayer and unconditional love. If either of these components is missing, the initiation loses its power.

Many seekers encounter doubt about the transformative power of prayer, since they may pray regularly but see little sign of transformation. For a long time I struggled with this question myself. Prayers that burst from us when we are confronted with life’s calamities are too weak to connect our heart with the Supreme. The same is true of the prayers we say by rote or as part of a ceremony. The formal practice of prayer involves choosing a specific prayer and focusing our mind on that—but when we do so, the selection of the right kind of prayer is of the utmost importance. The best prayers are those that have been revealed to the saints and sages, and because they have their origin in divine experience, such prayers are capable of leading the mind and heart to that experience. These prayers are always accompanied by anahata nada, the eternal music that is always playing in the interior of our being.

Remember: to be effective, prayer needs to be selfless. Only after meeting a number of blessed saints did I realize that I did not really understand this about prayer.

Most often my prayers were full of conditions. By that I mean they were not God-oriented prayers, but rather self-oriented. I said those prayers to achieve worldly goals—good grades, a good job, or the favor of influential people. Once when I noticed that things were not working out as I desired, I decided to make a concrete deal with God. I began saying this prayer: “O Divine Mother, if I become a professor at the University of Allahabad I will do a hundred recitations of the scripture Durga Saptashati at thy shrine, Vindhya Vasani.” Deep in my heart I was not fully convinced that prayers alone could help me achieve this goal, so during the period I was saying this prayer I also visited the university authorities I thought would help me get the job. Yet long before the selection committee met, I heard that someone else would be chosen.

The will of the Divine is unfailing and ever-auspicious. While puzzling over why my prayers were not heard, I met someone who helped me realize that the highest kind of prayer has nothing to do with worldly goals. God is not a petty-minded merchant with whom we can negotiate. The will of the Divine is unfailing and ever-auspicious, I discovered, and that is why the heart of real prayer is surrender. When we surrender to divine will, we rise above the realm of desire and attachment; our desires and goals are no longer our own. Then we are no longer concerned with whether or not our prayers are effective. We understand that everything that happens happens through the will of the Divine. We come to accept everything as divine will and find delight in it. A person familiar with the secrets of divine will and self-surrender knows that even loss and failure are manifestations of divine grace.

​Prayer is a means of unfolding our own willpower and connecting ourselves with the Divine within. It is an invisible thread of sounds connecting the individual with the Supreme, and it is strengthened when spun with feelings of faith, love, and total surrender.

Shared with gratitude, from the writings of my teacher, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait of the Himalayan Institute.