Welcome to everyone, and especially to new subscribers!
Another serving of mental, spiritual and metaphysical
nourishment for your pleasure. If you have any suggestions
for future content in this newsletter, please send them to:
Please DO forward this ezine on to your friends so that they
can benefit too!
What's New at Mystic Visions Website? Website Update
I have added a brief article, based on my new book "The 7
Golden Secrets To Knowing Your Higher Self.
Click Here To Read It
There were many interesting thoughts on the Mystic Visions
Discussion Boards. In particular, a discussion regarding physical
immortality was particularly fascinating. Check it out at:
http://www.aksworld.com/discus
"Let him that would move the world first move himself"
Socrates
Editorial
,
Well, for those of you who don't know it yet, my new book "The 7
Golden Secrets To Knowing Your Higher Self" is finally out and
available for you.
Despite being issued on arguably the worst day of the entire
year, New Year's Eve, sales have been very encouraging indeed.
There have been some very kind comments too. Here is one:
"What is required by people like myself is a written reference
source that can be continually accessed to provide the necessary
guidance. This is provided for by your book, and I am gaining a
deeper sense of purpose in my life in relation to totality. Thank
you again for providing this guidance for society, which is very
much required at this moment within the Aquarian cycle."
Steve Greenway, Warwickshire, United Kingdom
This book has been a labor of love for me, and I have given it my
best so far. You can click below to check it out:
http://www.aksworld.com/7GS.htm?ATW
This month's ezine covers some important issues. The personal
development article follows directly on from my new book, and
discusses what it takes to bring YOUR dream into reality. I
learned many lessons from this book writing project, and I share
them with you. The metaphysical article unearths some of the
harsh, and not often spoken of, truths about spiritual groups.
You may find it refreshing and encouraging too.
Finally, I would like to draw your attention to an excellent
ezine, by Julie Jordan Scott, called "Discover Your Passion". It
is all about making your dreams come true. Julie is a Certified
Life Purpose Coach who works with action oriented, creative
people who are ready to live each moment with passion. You can
subscribe to her free ezine by sending a blank e-mail to:
DiscoverYourPassion-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Best Wishes,
Asoka Selvarajah
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Being involved with a spiritual group has many tremendous
benefits over going it alone, but it can also have many pitfalls.
On the one hand, you have the benefit of interacting with people
of like mind to your own. However, on the other hand, you have
the many frustrations and challenges that come with participating
in a group of diverse individuals, each with a separate opinion
of what constitutes a correct approach to the spiritual path.
One danger we can very easily fall prey to is that of comparing
ourselves to others. Of course, each of us has spent a large
portion of our lives making endless comparisons of just about
everything. However, when this is applied in a negative fashion
to the spiritual arena, it can have dire consequences.
Many people quietly ask themselves, "what's wrong with me?",
and can make themselves very depressed by doing so. It seems
that other people are making good progress in their spiritual
growth, but when you look at yourself in the mirror, not a lot is
changed. This problem is also magnified by the fact that many
individuals in spiritual circles like to parade their supposed
achievements, sometimes subtly but often quite blatantly, and let
everybody know just how advanced they are. Hence, sensitive
souls, who insist on comparing themselves to such people, can
undermine whatever growth they have achieved. Indeed, they can
even cause themselves psychological problems in the process;
depression being the most common of these.
This is why it is often best to keep your counsel. Spiritual
work is best kept secret and personal. It is not intended to be a
beauty competition. Otherwise, there is a tendency towards making
negative comparisons. At the other extreme, it is also possible
to develop spiritual pride and boastfulness through some imagined
superiority of your own.
Neither extreme is of any benefit to your spiritual life.
Therefore, if you give away some money to a worthy cause, keep it
to yourself. Should you one day see a vision of Christ or
Krishna during your meditation session, only you and your
spiritual diary should know anything about it. if you do share
your insights with another person, ensure that you only do so in
order that the other may benefit, or because you are genuinely
uncertain about your experience and need clarification from
someone further along the path than yourself.
Comparisons can be most valuable if used in the correct way. By
comparing yourself to those who have attained what you seek, you
see where you are lacking and are given a role model whom you can
seek to emulate, however imperfectly at first. Thus, Christ,
Krishna, Buddha, and others have been used as role models to the
great benefit of those who have done so. By studying the lives of
such people - by pondering on their thoughts, words and teachings
- you inspire yourself to want to be more like them, and actually
accelerate the process of doing so.
Actions do speak louder than words in the context of
spiritual society. Words are cheap and easily spoken. They are
no measure whatsoever as to the spiritual progress of the
individual speaking. Mere head knowledge of the esoteric is no
guide either, since books are plentiful these days and anyone who
wants to can rapidly obtain a "spiritual Ph.D" in esoteric
chatter! Sadly, the spiritual arena does attract many
psychologically maladjusted individuals, whose greatest pleasure
is vaunting themselves up on the good opinions of others. It is
important that you are not easily fooled, and especially that you
are not depressed and discouraged, by their antics and claims.
However, actions that are sincerely motivated speak clearly of
what lies deep within the heart. There is a lot of hypocrisy
going on within spiritual groups. You may find one person making
all kinds of spiritual pronouncements, and yet this same person
will quite thoughtlessly walk past a beggar in the street without
even thinking of helping in any way. Here is an actual example
of this kind of behavior. A yoga teacher was preparing to send
cash donation overseas to a worthwhile charitable course. She
mentioned this to her class and asked if anyone else would like
to contribute too. The silence was deafening!
As you observe spiritual people in such groups and communities,
you will see many such examples. However, the point is not to
become judgmental or regard yourself as superior. Rather, you
should observe and be aware. Guard against falling into the same
trap yourself.
It is also vital to respect your spiritual teacher, and listen
sincerely to the teachings, without crossing the line into
worshipping your teacher or regarding him/her as having descended
from heaven. This can lead to tremendous disappointment, and has
done so for many followers in many different places and times.
It is always wonderful to find a perfect teacher giving perfect
teachings. All too often though, the teacher you end up with is
just as human and fallible as the rest of us. Moreover, the
greater the degree of advance, the greater the distance there is
to fall, should it happen. Spiritual teachers have been known to
"come off the rails" and get involved in sexual affairs, or other
such behaviors which their disciples would regard as improper.
Others engage in ashram/temple politics, apparently for their own
self-aggrandizement.
Hence, it is always a good idea to use discernment at all times.
If the teachings are valuable and true, then heed them. However,
if the teacher should ever bitterly disappoint your expectations
one day, beware of throwing out the teachings with the teacher!
This is what many disappointed aspirants do. They give up their
practice and drift away disillusioned forever.
If you are a teacher in a spiritual community, it is quite common
to find people in the group who do not respect you, and who seek
to undermine your authority, or belittle you in subtle ways. In
such instances, it is wise to remember that in any spiritual
group, there will always be sheep, as well as wolves in sheep's
clothing. It is not your job to sort them out. Rather than become
discouraged, or get into a bickering contest, focus instead on
always giving of your very best, regardless of praise or
appreciation. Your chief point of comparison should be yourself,
and how well you are holding to your own values. Let the world's
opinion come and go.
Spiritual groups can truly be a wonderful place to grow, and to
meet other people of like mind. If used in this way, they can be
a tremendous spur to your inner development. However, it is
always wise is to remember that no group is perfect. You are
dealing with real and fallible people, no matter how they might
like to represent themselves or be thought of. Therefore,
rather than focus on the imperfections and get distracted by
them, approach the spiritual group or teacher with realistic
expectations. Since the whole point of a spiritual community is
to aid growth, it should never be a cause of disillusionment
and sorrow.
By working within a group in this manner, and by
never neglecting your own vital individual practice, you set
yourself up for success and steady advancement upon the spiritual
path .
Copyright Asoka Selvarajah 2002. All Rights Reserved.
Asoka Selvarajah is a writer on personal growth and
spirituality,
and the author of "The 7 Golden Secrets To Knowing Your
Higher
Self". His work helps people achieve their full
potential, deepen their
understanding of mystical truth,
and discover their soul's purpose. Learn more about his work
Have you ever had that feeling? That deep sense of purpose, that
your life has some great meaning, and yet you have no idea what?
Many of us can identify with the title of this book.
In this New York Times Bestseller, Sher and Smith tackle these
issues head on and give you really practical advice on how to go
from this state of confusion and dissipation to leading a life of
purpose and fulfilling your destiny. They deal with the problems
of resistance, fear of failure, negative internal dialogue, fear
of success, inhibitions from childhood, having too many diverse
interests to focus on any single one, the job you hate which pays
the bills and more. You will learn how to design the ideal job
for yourself, how to get from where you are now to where you want
to be in life, how to even know where you want to be, how to
recover from devastating loss, how to overcome inner and outer
negative criticism, and much more. More than just an
inspirational read, the book is packed with practical pen and
paper exercises to help you uncover the truth and gain deep
insights you can then use in forging a positive path for the
successful future you deserve.
If you feel that your life lacks purpose and meaning, is on the
wrong track, that you were meant for something much better, but
don't have the faintest idea how to even to begin to go about
looking for it, then this book is for you! Don't even hesitate.
Click Here For The Book.
Have you ever dreamed of writing a book? Or starting your own
business? Or enrolling in an Art course? Or whatever?.....
If the answer is yes, then why haven't you?
Recently, I finished and launched my first major book, entitled
"The 7 Golden Secrets To Knowing Your Higher Self". It was a
proud moment when the whole thing was finished and available. It
was an even happier moment when the very first person bought a
copy!
I learned many lessons from the whole process of writing and
planning a book, and carrying the process to execution.
Hopefully, these lessons will inspire you to commence your own
dream project today.
The biggest lesson of all is: Just DO it! Cut through the excuses
and get started today. Half of finishing a project is just
starting it in the first place. One of the main reasons people do
not break out of their comfort zone, and commence making their
dream come true, is lack of self-confidence. Too often, we are
waiting for someone to descend from the sky and confer "expert"
status upon us. We play down our strengths, compare ourselves to
the elite in the field we wish to enter, judge ourselves
unworthy, and decide that it is not even worth starting. It is
better to do nothing.
The truth is that you ARE an expert in something; probably quite
a lot of things. Being an expert simply means that you know more
about a subject than MOST people do. It does NOT mean that you
have to be the last definitive word on the matter. For example,
if the qualification for writing a book about Buddhism is that
you have to be an enlightened Buddha, then there would have very
few writings on the subject!
Likewise, you do not have to wait until you have it all perfectly
figured out to begin your dream project. You can start where you
are. If you lack confidence, then give yourself some boosters by
creating little successes along the way to your big goal. My book
did not just jump out of me fully grown one day. Before it, there
was an established ezine. Before the ezine, there was a single
article that I wrote and showed to only one person. When she said
it was good, I tried publishing it in some other ezines and was
encouraged with the resulting acceptance. It is the same with
you. Start small and give yourself little stops along the way for
encouraging water to drink. But above all else, start! Once you
begin your project with definiteness of purpose, it gathers its
own momentum and many unseen forces come to your aid.
Making a dream project come true takes work. Do not believe
otherwise. Writing a book is a grinding activity that requires
time (lots of it), thought, research and sheer persistence.
The discipline is all you have left at times. For instance, I set
myself the goal of writing two pages every day, seven days a
week. Sometimes, those two pages came fairly easily. Sometimes,
they were torture. However, by first setting the goal of your
dream project, and then setting mini-goals towards its
achievement (e.g. two pages per day in my case), you gradually
make it come true, bit by bit. Persistence with a routine also
creates a momentum behind your routine.
Here is a plan I heard about recently for writing a book in 90
days. I wish I had known about it when I was starting my own. It
goes like this:
First, decide what your book is going to be about. Second, write
down 25 chapter headings. Third, for each chapter heading, write
down titles for 4 sub-headings. For each sub-heading, write down
titles for two further sub-sections. Then.....
Get writing!
Having created the structure of your book before you even begin,
you make it far easier to stimulate your brain into creative
action. The human brain hates incompletions. Thus, by creating a
structure and getting to work to fill it, you are challenging
your brain to complete all the sections and sub-sections. It will
definitely do so, provided you get started in the first place.
With this structure in place, it should be fairly easy to write a
couple of pages a day every day, provided you make the time for
it. Certainly, it is far easier to do it this way than to try and
write a book with no plan at all.
An important point is that this same process can be carried out
with dream projects other than books. After all, what you are
really doing with this scheme is setting a goal and then creating
all the mini-goals towards its completion. Then you are setting
aside time every day to spend upon that goal. Hence, you can
adapt the above plan to suit your own project.
What really holds you back from even beginning your project? Are
you afraid of what people might say if you fall flat on your
face. Might it be that you fear that nobody will want what you
have to offer? Are you "too busy" with running the house, or
bringing in the money? What excuse are you using to hold you back
from what you would really love to do?
Imagine a different scenario for a moment. Pretend that your book
(or your Art, or your interior design business, or whatever) was
a stunning success. Imagine for a moment that people flocked to
you, wanting to know more about what you have to offer. See the
press clamoring to interview you on radio and TV. For just a
moment, imagine that what you have always dreamed of doing COULD
NOT FAIL. If you like, there is a genie standing in front of you,
about to grant you this one wish and make it all come true. Close
your eyes and imagine this for a second.
NOW.... Say to yourself:
1) "I'll get around to it once the kids have grown up" OR
2) "Well, when the mortgage is paid off, we'll see..." OR
3) "Once I'm retired....." OR
4) "Yes, but I'm too young/old/black/white/uneducated....." OR
5) "I need to do a bit more study on the subject first..." OR
6) Whatever YOUR private excuse is!
and then walk away from it!....
Are you serious? Why would you exchange that bright future for
doing the dishes, or turning up at that job you hate with
absolutely no plans for a change? So, what is holding you back
from starting? The answer is: your own fears and self-doubt.
If you knew in advance that you could not fail, then NOTHING
would hold you back from commencing RIGHT NOW. All of the above
numbered points are just excuses designed to protect you from
ever taking any real risks in life. Yet, without risk, there is
little or no chance of gain.
It may be less a matter of "what if I fail?" than a fear of "what
if I succeed?" Some people are afraid of failure and what others
might think. However, others are secretly afraid of the
consequences of their own success. Either way, you are the only
person creating the ceiling on how far you can go in your life.
If you have a bit of self-doubt in you, then welcome to the human
race. EVERYONE who has ever achieved anything worthwhile has felt
the exact same way. Yet, the key is to overcome this and begin to
work on your dream now.
You just have to START, and be willing to fail a few times. The
greatest successes in life have also failed more times than
anyone else. Many multimillionaires have actually gone bankrupt
several times prior to making their big money. Edison made
several thousand failed attempts before finally inventing the
electric lightbulb.
If you wish to succeed fast, then double your rate of failure.
Set your goals ahead of you and go for them undaunted. If you act
as if you could not fail, then you will not. In fact, do not even
use the word "failure", but instead call it "feedback" towards
your goal.
Give some thought to these matters. If you have not taken any
serious steps towards your dream, ask yourself why not. Do you
REALLY want your dream, or are you content for it to remain a
fantasy? If the answer is no, then try going to work on it today.
Have faith and have persistence. Be brave and be willing to fail
as many times as it takes to succeed. Do all of this and the
universe will do the rest to bring your dream to you faster than
you can imagine.
Copyright 2002, Asoka Selvarajah. All Rights Reserved.
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