Spirituality Tips Guides

Revenge, the desire to hurt others who have hurt us, only bears bitter fruit. It hurts those whom we have inflicted our wrath upon. And it hurts us, because no single act in the universe goes unrewarded. From that singular act, our own consciousness is wounded by the expression of our animalism.

Nations pride themselves on the swiftness of their retribution but inevitably collapse in on themselves because the seeds of discontent that they sow, hurts all of life. Rome, the greatest civilization that the world had ever known, built on the finest arts and sciences known to the ancient world, the epitome of legal and architectural order, collapsed from within, destroyed by its own impulse to use its mighty force to strike out and subdue.

Today our world is dying because of this impulse to strike out.

We are destroying each other at an alarming rate, both individually and collectively.

And even the earth itself, is collapsing at a faster rate than we can repair. Scientists now estimate that by the year 2050, we will have exhausted the earth of all its natural resources.

The science that we celebrate, the genius of our efforts, are wasted on destructive uses. Instead of using the power of the nucleus to build great civilizations we are busy using it to stockade bombs.

Billions of dollars that could be used to heal the broken places on our planet are used to send people to horrific deaths.

When we seek to hurt life, we hurt ourselves, for we are life.

Revenge it is said is a dish best served cold; but whether it is served with cold deliberation or hot reaction, it is a dish in whose very preparation we imbue a poison that will return to destroy us.

The greatest illusion is this: that we can hurt and not be hurt, that we can wound another and remain unscathed. When we inflict harm upon another, we inflict harm upon ourselves. What goes around comes around. A rudimentary study of history will prove this.

When we love, we reach out to align with life, to nurture and make others better, and in that act, we redeem ourselves from our own past follies.

This love is a precious act. It is our extension of spiritual power in the world. It is a moment of sympathy and support that we have for life. When you bend down and help a child tie its shoelaces, you are tying up all the knots of the world. When you listen in silence and understand another’s intention, you are spreading the meme of empathy through all of time and space, for thoughts are cosmic waves that do not know any barriers.

As we extend love to others, it comes back to us.

Yet we cannot love others unless we love ourselves as well.

We cannot live without making mistakes of judgment and do things that we will later regret, because we are na

You are awesome. You are the light of the world. And in this brief essay, I will prove it to you.

Your body is a superb machine whose functional details keep scientists in a state of awe and wonder. They estimate that your body has enough power to run a whole city for a week.

Your mind is a computer that has billions of interconnected neurons. You may have enough raw brain power to run a galaxy.

Yet there is something even more amazing about you. You are self-aware, the creator of yourself, and your own creation. You are more than a person, much more. You are a consciousness whose only limit is your own self-belief and imagination.

And, whether you admit it or not, you are here on this planet to do something great with all this raw power and potentiality. You are a creator and you are in a place where creation is necessary. In fact, your internal guidance system, your emotions, will tell you whether you are on track or off track. If you are happy, you are doing something creative and feel fulfilled. If you are unhappy, you are conforming to a reality that does not bring out the best in you.

On the surface of things, it may seem that you have little free-will and are limited in both creativity and imagination. It may also seem that you are pressed in and coerced to do things by stronger forces. And it may also seem that you are different from others, living in a separate objective world of your own.

Yet the study of quantum mechanics shows that at a fundamental level everything is only energy and that this idea of separation is really some kind of hallucination we all share in common because our senses are not subtle enough to observe the fluid interconnection between all things.

Furthermore, a radical subjectivity informs your entire experience of life. That is, you can never not be yourself, and even when you name something as objective, it is a statement that arises from your own subjectivity.

Finally, you are nothing but your own expression of choices, which you bring into existence through creativity and imagination.

This life that you live is the clay that you shape. You are the geometer, organizer, and designer of your life.

As Dr. Joe Vitale said in the movie, The Secret, “You are the Michelangelo of your own life. The David you are sculpting is YOU.”

What you think and feel on a moment by moment basis influences all of life because everything about you has some kind of influence.

This is a big concept.

Here is how to understand it.

Think of a row of dominoes leaning up against other dominoes, when there is a change in movement in one, it affects all the other dominoes.

Here is another way to understand it.

Scientists estimate that the flapping of the wings of a butterfly can affect the air currents in a way that gradually magnifies over a distance until it causes weather changes

Of course, all this is very, very subtle. You will never know whether your bad mood affects an international crisis in a war-prone area or whether your good mood creates an act of kindness in a city far away from you.

It has been said that the vibrations of someone with deep wisdom can affect all of humanity. This is easier to understand. After all the history of ideas shows that all that is necessary to influence billions of people throughout time is the ideas of a few people.

What all this means is that beneath the apparent separation between human beings, we are all one; and beneath the apparent lack of power we display, we hide a mighty power.

What you say, think, and do matters. Not only to you, but to everyone. Sometimes it is obvious how your influence spreads. But most often it is subtle, very subtle, hardly noticeable to you, like the flapping of the wings of a butterfly.

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The topic of this article is “design a zen garden.” I have done my best to write a brief but informative article. If your are still looking for more info, see our research concepts at the end.

“Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification.”
-Martin H. Fischer

A Zen Garden is an ancient Japanese garden that monks use to use to meditate and contemplate and they date all the way back to the thirteenth century. The Zen garden is designed as a three dimensional entity with a background and a foreground to create depth.

Every element that is included in the Zen garden design has a purpose. From the use of water, flowers, gates, bridges and other such entities, the garden takes on a different characteristic for the person using it for contemplation. For example, water is the provider of life and can be included in the Zen garden design in the form of a waterfall, a fountain or even a stream or pond.

Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about the topic:
“A Zen garden is an enclosed shallow sandbox containing sand, gravel, rocks, and occasionally grass or other natural elements. The main elements of karesansui are rocks and sand, with the sea symbolized not by water but by sand raked in patterns that suggest rippling water. Plants are much less important (and sometimes nonexistent) in many karesansui gardens. Karesansui gardens are often, but not always, meant to be viewed from a single, seated perspective, and the rocks are often associated with and named after various Chinese mountains.”

Rocks

Rocks create dimension for your Zen garden design so they are one of the most important elements that you can include. When it comes to the ultimate Zen garden design, you want to choose rocks that are well worn, you want to place the rocks from larger at the front to smaller in back and you want to make sure that the color of the rocks is somewhat uniform. Rocks represent time and energy and therefore you want to make sure that they are prominent in your garden to give your garden depth.

Flowers

When choosing flowers for your Zen garden design, you want to make sure the flowers are suitable for the climate you live in. You also want to make sure that the colors compliment the other areas of your garden. The Zen garden design is all about harmony and the wrong kind of flower can wreak havoc on all your hard work.

If you’re not sure of what flowers to include in your Zen garden design, ask a Zen expert which can be found at various websites or even in your area. Use the phone book to look for Zen experts in your area. With so much turmoil in the world, more and more people are looking to include Zen garden designs in their home or outside of their home so you should have no trouble seeking expert advice for your garden.

After you have your original Zen garden design, then you can start adding new elements to give your Zen garden character. You can add a bridge to connect two otherwise non-connected parts, you can add a gate, you can add pebbles and sand, ornaments and any other elements that you deem worthy enough to create the ultimate relaxation spot.

Once you have your Zen garden completed, you will love to spend as much time in there as possible, especially if you live a hectic lifestyle. Just a little while in the perfect Zen garden design and your batteries will be recharged so that you can be ready for whatever life hands your way.

To find more information the topic, here are some suggestions:
1) The internet - one can use a favorite search engine
2) Catalogs - There are hundreds of catalogs on almost every topic imaginable
3) Local stores - depending on the store, well-trained employees can be a great resource

For more information on designing a Zen garden visit http://www.GardenDesignBasics.com
or visit http://www.TheCleverGardener.com

The key to understanding Zen Buddhism is to understand the phrase “I don’t know.” In this phrase is hidden the secrets of Zen and Zen Meditation. At first glance this may seem counter intuitive or just a play on words, but I assure you that is not the case. This is really the essence of Zen and once you grasp what is being implied here, all the Zen teachings will start to make sense.

The problem, according to Zen is not “not-knowing”, it is in fact knowing too much. What needs to be qualified here is the type of knowledge that is being referred to. There is knowledge that is factual, such as the distance to the moon or the elemental makeup of water, but the knowledge that is being indicated here, is the knowledge having to do with our security and happiness. In other words, all that we know about what we ought to be doing to get out of life maximum happiness, is the knowledge that we need to purge ourselves of.

For ease of communication I will call this knowledge “Emotional Knowledge”, as it relates to how we need to go about increasing pleasure/happiness and decreasing pain/sorrow. This Emotional Knowledge, Zen is saying, is what drives us to endlessly seek and endlessly be restless. In other words, having accepted innumerable theories on how we need our life to be in order to be happy, we are caught in a cycle of endless desire chasing these goals. Zen says, drop Emotional Knowledge or at least don’t emphasize it and instead just be open to the moment and meet the challenge of life which is right under your nose.

It is very hard to really say “I Don’t Know.” All kinds of theories, beliefs, ideologies, philosophies have been forced into us since we were impressionable children, which now dominate our mind and lives. We feel we need to do this or that in order to get this or that, which at the end will make us happy. Unfortunately, this approach has failed. Human beings always get used to what they have and then inevitably start to demand more. It just does not matter what it is or how much you have. You will eventually get used to having it and then will want more. The only way out of this endless cycle of desire is to surrender to the sate of “I Don’t Know.”

When you can really say “I Don’t Know”, then there is little for the mind to chase and pursue. Then you just look at life and do what is necessary and as you continue on in this way of living in the moment, desire starts to lose its grip on you. In Zen this is called mindful living. Real freedom then makes its welcome appearance as awareness, free now from outward seeking, moves inward and reveals the secrets hidden deep within us.

To work towards this state of “I Don’t Know”, you need to question all your desires. Too often, in this atmosphere of commercialism, we have been seduced by clever advertisement and social propaganda. Corporations and those in power need you to buy into the happy, pleasurable future they are promising, else they will either lose their sale or your vote. So you need to see if you can remain untouched by this atmosphere of endless consumption. Once you buy in, then you are in the rat race, because now you think you know what you need to get to be happy and so you are off and running, if you don’t buy in you stand apart and are free.

So next time someone asks you, What is it that you want in life? Look at them and just smile. Welcome to the wonderful world of Zen.

Anmol Mehta is a Yoga Teacher & Zen Expert. His extensive site, Free Guided Chakra Meditation Practice & Kundalini Yoga Exercises, offers Free Online Guided Meditation Techniques. You will also find articles & lively discussions on the Free Guided Meditation Practice, Kundalini Yoga Poses & Zen Meditation Blog.