Joy of a Different Place

  ‘ When she finds joy and wonder in every little thing, joy and wonder will always find her.’

-          Katrina Mayer

 Look at this baby-

who is smiling at you

your heart starts to melt –

into that innocence and that pureness

like snow melting in the early spring sun…

Look at that man-

who is smiling at you

his smile may be sweet and sophisticated,

you may even smile back at him 

but you will keep your heart guarded carefully,

You both are playing a game 

because of your inner knowing :

the smiles can come from different places-

or from a real place of the soul;

or from a fake place of the masked ego…

A child is joyful-

his joy comes from a place of innocence;

A fool is joyful-

his joy comes from a place of ignorance;

A man is still joyful-

 after being wronged by others many times,

his joy comes from a place of his compassion;

A man is still joyful -

after all the heartbreaks and tribulations-

his joy comes from a place of his inner strength…

Thus-

Joy to joy can be of different depths;

Man to man can be of worlds apart,

but to a fool,

they are all the same

         

Missing

As soon as you try to vocalize

the magnificent Northern lights,

You are missing-

ITS MAGNIFICENCE

As soon as you intellectualize your life

as a mere physical existence,

You are missing-

YOUR OWN MYSTERY

As soon as you need reasons

to love,

You are missing-

LOVE

As soon as you feel compelled

to define or debate about your God,

You are missing-

GOD

Just Surviving

Before I met you,

Love was just words.

Before I knew my Self,

I was just an imitator.

Before I understood life,

I was just surviving.

Half Full Glass

There are some-

 who weep for their only half full glasses

There are some-

 who rejoice for their still half full glasses

Weeping or rejoicing -

has nothing to do with the fullness in the glass

but it has everything to do-

 with the minds behind the glasses...  

Winter goes and comes.

It is a Christmas again.

You came to me in tears-

Last Christmas he was still with you

 and this year he is no more…

All the sweet promises seem to have disappeared-

 in the cold wind without any traces;

You are left with nothing 

but those unfulfilled dreams and a broken heart;

And you say,

you would never be happy again without him …

Time can heal everything, my friend.

Sun is still rising, with or without him;

Moon is still shining, with or without him;

Earth is still rotating, with or without him;

Your happiness has nothing to do with him,

or anybody or anything;

but has everything to do with how you CHOOSE to feel!

 So please my friend,

why settle for the crumbs of love from the others

if you yourself can be the source of all the love you desire;

why cry over a withering bush

if you still have a whole garden to attend ;

When your garden is-

 filled with blossoming flowers and sweet fragrance,

what's the need even to worry about-

 if there are enough bees around?! ...

So please my dear friend,

Let's choose love over hatred

even our glasses are only half full ;

Let's choose joy over sadness,

even our glasses are completely empty; 

Because who knows,

now the room which has been freed up -

can fill up with something even better and greater

......

Love and Hate

Oh, how much I have hated my parents-

for their worldly shrewdness;

for having us carry over their own desires and guilt;

We were lost all together like blind led by the blind…

Yet, how much I love my parents-

for having the opportunity to manifest my life through them;

for having shared their sufferings and ignorance-

so to kindle my desire of wanting to be freed from -

the sufferings and ignorance...

Oh, how much I have hated this body of mine -

for its vulnerability and its limitations

for the disbelief of such a greatness,

such an intelligence dwelling in a such poverty …

Yet, how much I love this body of mine –

for my ears can hear the songs echoing within the deep forest;

for my feet can feel the tickles of the sand, the caressing of the sea;

for my face can sense the warm glow from the first ray of the morning sun;

for my heart can throb the beautiful melodies

when you take me into your arms…

Oh, how much I have hated this world-

for its hypocrisy and its unfairness;

for its greediness and its unconsciousness-

People die as if they have never lived;

People live as if they have never died…

Yet, how much I love this world-

for the small dewdrops glittering in the sunlight beautifully;

for the maple leaves turning into flamingo red magically;

for the delicious smell of newly brewed coffee filling up my room slowly;

for the good laughs with those dear friends of mine;

for the small kindness shown by some passing-by strangers;

for the desire of seeing your sweet smile

as soon as I open my eyes in the morning…

Oh, how silly of me-

have spent years in loving this and hating that;

then again, how silly of me -

have spent years at war with myself for loving this and hate that!

Oh, how silly of me-

for not understanding both my love and my hate 

are of the same ONE energy within me!

Whenever I deny my hate,

I deny my love as well;

Whenever I deny the intensity of my hate,

I deny the intensity of my love as well…

Those weak people-

who neither dare to love nor to hate,

so they love lightly and hate lightly;

Those passionate souls-

who can neither love lightly nor hate lightly ,

whatever they do they do with their intensity-

they can't be any other way.

Therefore, 

One can only love/hate as one's energy allows;

However, 

Energy has to be expressed by moving-

(standing still leads to stagnation)

Or moving from love to hate,

Or moving from hate to love …

Thus,

One has to take the full responsibility

for one's energy manifestation-

or moving little closer towards love, joy and light;

or moving little closer towards hate, suffering and darkness;

There is no such a thing as victim of the outer forces 

but there is everything to do with one's own making here...

As were repeated in my dreams,

I watched my self leaving my body -

soaring through the endless clouds in the sky;

venturing into the dangerous uncharted seas;

standing on the mountain tops laughing loudly-

at the drama plays of my chosen;

at this whole absurdity of separation 

between love and hate!

……

Way of the Warriors

She says:

‘My beloved master,

When there was nobody saw me,

you saw me;

When there was nobody understood me,

you understood me…’

The master replies:

‘If you aren't seeking yourself,

you won’t find me even I am sitting next to you;

If you aren't ready yourself,

You won’t be able to understand me 

even I am trying to explain to you…

We are merely mirroring each other,

like the moon is reflected in the lake.

If the water is not clear enough, still enough,

the moon wouldn't be seen so beautifully …’

She says:

‘My beloved master,

you have taught me about the fine swordsmanship.

What if , I fail to defeat the other swordsmen,

will I bring the shame upon your name?’

The master replies:

’Wining and losing is the game for the fools.

I have no name which you can bring the shame upon-

I come from the nameless ;

and I shall return to the nameless.

A great name may serve a great deal to a false master

but serves nothing to a real master!’

She says:

‘My beloved master,

Why have you been so emphasizing on-

A man must place his/her mind/heart in the right place first

before walking on the path the warriors?’

The master replies:

‘If an ill -hearted man learns about the martial way,

he/she may bring misfortunes and destructions to the others;

If a mediocre man learns about the martial way,

he/she may use the name of the warriors as his/her trophy;

But if a man with right mind/heart learns about the martial way ,

he/she may strive himself /herself towards the righteous way –

for serving the good

for honoring the courageous 

other than his /her trifle self interests;

Thus, only a man of such is fitted to be a true warrior;

only a warrior of such can truly protect and sustain life

even he/she is a man who carries the sword…’

She says:

‘My beloved master,

how shall I NOT fear for death?

how shall I be courageous 

when someone is pointing the chilly sword blade at my heart…?!’

The master replies:

‘When a warrior accepts his/her death,

it is not because he/she doesn't want to live;

it is not even because he/she is unafraid;

it is because, they know in their hearts-

There is a kind of death worse than the physical death- 

the death of one’s spirit!

Knowing the danger yet keeping forward is the way of warriors ;

Knowing the pain yet swallowing away the tears is the way of the warriors;

Knowing the death approaching yet not yielding is the way of the warriors;

…...

Legend says, in the kingdom of the warriors,

Unless all the fears are known to your mind and to your heart,

you won't be able to enter the kingdom of the true warriors;

you won't be able to have the companionship of 

the bravest and the most compassionate hearts…’

She says:

‘My beloved master,

would you say that the way of the warriors -

still have its place in today’s society?’

The master replies:

‘If an old way can still serve you good-

Take advantage of it even though the others ridicule it;

If an old way can no longer serve you good-

Discard it no matter how highly it was regarded once;

Consistency without flexibility is just rigid foolishness,

Flexibility without consistency leads nowhere either!

The way of the warriors -

is NOT just the way for the battlefields during the war times,

it is also the way of life! ’

Soul Attraction

              My daughter is entering the teens’ world. I have noticed that she is getting more and more conscious about her looks and her changing body: The time she spends in the bathroom is getting annoyingly longer and longer; the images of her idols are filling up her room; her moods are changing faster than the Göteborg’s weather… A few days ago she came home from school and looked low. First she refused to say anything to me but went directly into her room. I waited, knowing she would be back soon.

            ‘Mum, do you think I am pretty enough?’ She looked at me half seriously, then lowered her voice, ‘ I think my face is not pretty enough, and my breasts are not big enough… the girls in my class have already boyfriends…’

         ‘My silly girl,’ I took her into my arm, ‘ I think you are pretty enough; and don't worry, you are going to get your breasts and your boyfriend... '

           She didn’t look assured at all. I could read what was going on in her mind. It can’t be easy  for any young girl like her to navigate in this complex world with the enormous amount of information, impressions and opinions streaming their way 7/24, via the people around them like friends, parents, teachers etc., via Facebook/ Instagram / TV  the various media channels etc.… How can we know the real intentions behind any given opinions or ideas? How can we see through the hidden agendas behind the information coming our way? Have we questioned about how the social collective behaviors are influencing our behaviors as an individual? Have we ever doubted about own thoughts if it is originated from our own mind or from the others?... I am sure that we all have experienced things like this:  You may think that you have not been paying attention to the advertisement about Colgate toothpaste on TV every night, yet by the time you are standing in the shop facing many different toothpaste brands, you would most likely choose Colgate, just because it sounds familiar somehow… Isn’t it a bit frightening how easily our mind can be manipulated, on many conscious or unconscious levels?!

              My dear, as you are getting more interested in your appearance and your attractiveness, i think it is time that we can take a closer look at this whole attraction thing together. Attractiveness is a very subjective thing: What is attractive to one person doesn’t mean attractive for another; what is considered beautiful in one place/during one period doesn’t automatically make it beautiful in other places/during other periods. So there is NO such thing as THE ‘Beauty Mode’. For example, in the old days in China, the ladies with smaller feet were considered beautiful and sexy. So many young girls at their early ages were forced to have their feet bones broken and bandaged tightly all together going through the excruciating pain  … in the end those girls got their desired small feet but they could hardly walk anymore… Do you see how absurd we can be, in the name of beauty or attraction?! Today we are living in a so called modern society, however it seems that we haven’t learnt smarter: Just look around, every day how many girls/ladies around the world are cutting up their faces/bodies going through the pain in order to look attractive for the others?! Some years' ago I was surprise by how many Chinese ladies are flying to Korea for reconstructing their eastern faces western, to make their small lips fuller like Angelina Jolie, due to the Hollywood influences? Yet, Can you imagine some centuries ago, the small lips were worshiped among many Asian ladies? It was said that a small mouth was synonym of great seduction... So, when you desire to be on the top of your appearance, may I ask which trend, which beauty mode shall you follow then? Shall you make your lips fuller first, then smaller some years later? Think about this: If, all the girls have got fuller lips, you don't think that the small lips will be back in fashion in no time?! That is how the mechanism of the business works- always feeding onto people’s unfulfilled dreams and desires...

              Who knows? Maybe one day in the future, physical attractiveness will be less interesting factor for measuring one’s attractiveness. Allow me think it aloud:  What if , the human's collective consciousness has raised to such a height; the knowledge about the quantum physics and the energy science has been generally understood and applied to such a degree; energy(aura) readings from the human's energy body, or you call it- the electromagnetic field become such a norm for the human society-since everything is some form of energy and vibration, from your thoughts to your emotions etc., which means the aura can very well reflect the vibration of one's soul... Edgar Cayce said once:... As the souls of individuals travel though the realms of being they shift and change their patterns as they use or abuse the opportunities presented to them. Thus at any time, a soul will give off through vibrations the story of itself and the condition in which it now exists. If another consciousness can apprehend those vibrations and energies, they will be able to understand the status of her/his being , or the progress she/he has made... I guess, by that time, since any physical beautification will have little effect in hiding one's true soul color, thus most likely, the beautiful aura emitted naturally from a beautiful soul will be most admired and sought after... 

           ‘ Wouldn’t that be COOL?’ I asked my girl enthusiastically.

           ‘No, mum!’ My teenage daughter shook at her head giving a look at her ‘crazy’mother...

           Well, as I am writing right now, another interesting aspect comes to my mind- In the rich Chinese vocabulary there are many ways to describe a beautiful girl for example: good looking, pretty, beautiful, sexy etc., but there is  another unusual expression - ‘气质(which means literately, Qi quality)’. It is supposed to be difficult to describe that kind of attractiveness : It is said in this world, there are many many pretty and sexy girls, but very few with attractive Qi Quality; it was said one's Qi quality can improve with the growth of the soul; it was said that a good Qi quality can seem subtle yet so penetrating to any soul who she is in touch with; it was said that she , whopossesses that kind of Qi quality, is like an ancient Chinese poem - the more you chew it, the more fragrance it will bring forth to you…

            Unfortunately I don’t think that kind of subtle beauty is as much appreciated in our modern times. Today’s taste is all about the sexual attractiveness- the bolder and the louder the better; the more revealing and the more direct the more attractive it is. I don’t want to go into that, you probably know what I mean anyway. Well, my concern is: wherever the attention is placed, energy moves there- when we place too much attentions on our sexual attractiveness and sexual performances, our two lowest energy centers which govern survival instincts and reproduction will be most activated, like most of the animals do. To me, it would be such a huge waste not to try to have the other five less material energy centers activated as much, since we human beings are blessed (or cursed)with the mind, which have the great potential transform our grosser energy lighter and move our energy upwards with the workings of our own mind, and our own energy system consciously - that is so called human energy alchemy! I believe, it is within each soul’s designed purpose, through the chosen sojourns,  trying to perfect its souls by refining its soul energy, and by working ultimately towards the compatibility and the final reunion with the ALL-Loving God energy... Yet, quite often for the earthly souls, the pulls from the physical temptations and the worldly influences and conditionings can be so overwhelming, so we keep astray from our intended paths and keep forgetting who we truly are, and our true soul plans…

             One day, hopefully you will understand better what I am talking about, my dear. As all the physical existence being governed by the physical laws has its limitations of time and space. In another words, no matter how pretty your face is; how gorgeous body you have today, it will decay one day… there is no magic face cream nor the most advanced plastic surgery can stop it from happening. So if that is all how you have lived your life-only conscious of your body and only conscious of your physical existence, then you are basically setting yourself for the disappointments in your later years when you can no longer identify yourself with your body attractiveness, or your physical existence... There is a reason why  Taichi master Jason Chan, who I believe,  has pretty good understanding about human energy work said something like this once: When someone tries too much to impress you with her/his sexual attractiveness , do watch out!

              I am not an antique mother. I have no intention of stopping you from experimenting with your physical attractiveness- trying new colors on the hair; trying makeups or clothing to maximize your feature…I get it, it can be fun, plus it is your birthright as a girl! I enjoy beautiful clothing and trying new staffs myself as well. Just keep in mind, that the aesthetic taste expressed through your physical existence can serve only as one small aspect of your soul expressions, there are more to it-discover them!... Let me put it in this way: You were  passing by a bookstore, your eyes got really caught by a book displayed at the window. You thought to yourself: What a beautiful cover that book has! It must have a beautiful and exciting story inside… Then you bought that book home and started reading, but to your disappointment, the story was boring and unimaginative, so in the end you never finished that book… I hope you will never become such a book – only attractive on the outside but not attractive inside! Because, even the physical attractiveness can work to your advantage initially , it can only work to the certain degree, and it is just matter of time the initial excitement (no matter how perfect that face/body is)  will become boring if there is nothing more to its 'fasade',  that is simply human's nature…

           But please don’t get too discouraged now, my dear. There is another kind of attraction, which operates totally different from the physical attraction, is called the soul attraction. Since that level of attraction comes from the deep within one’s soul, it has the potential to grow stronger and shine brighter with the growth of the soul towards its own perfection...  If you want to get a taste that kind of timeless attraction in your lifetime, you better start with yourself NOW! Though, you may still get lost or frustrated from time to time, try not to let anyone tell you that you are not good enough; pretty enough; smart enough or fast enough anymore! Keep working with reconnecting with your soul, your center, your innermost being, you will know for yourself that just YOU are more than enough!

         My dearest, as the deeper you are connected with your soul aspect, the better your soul will be able to guide you on your intended path; the more you are centered in your true being, the less you will be concerning about what the others think of you or expect of you; the more you have learned to love and accept yourself unconditionally, the better you will be able to resist against the worldly influences and conditionings, the more natural you will become; In your natural state of being, you will be able to blossom in your uniqueness and to bring forth your very flavor to the world, to the people around you. You don't need to be Emily Browning or the princess of Sweden, the attractiveness emanating from the beautiful and unique soul energy of yours will be deadly irresistible anyway!