Be Your Own Guru

Quote of the month:
The greatest guru is your inner self.

Truly he is the supreme teacher.

He alone can take you to your goal and

he alone meets you at the end of the road.

Confide in him and you need no outer guru.

- Nisargadatta Maharaj

I've been wanting to write about this topic for a while. This seems appropriate timing as I recently attended a conference (sponsored by Hay House) featuring many authors of spiritual material, each sharing their own way to happiness, inner peace or enlightenment. Several proposed meditation and others prayer. Another had us dance and sing, another suggested healthy eating, still others spoke of 2012, another advocated self care and another past life regression.

In the quote above Maharaj is telling us to be our own guru. What does this mean? It means that only you can know what is right for you and spirituality is not a one size fits all type of thing. Listening to other authors, experts, friends...and ESPECIALLY my blog ; ) may have value and it may provide you with a piece (or peace!) here or an understanding there. In the end, it is more meaningful for you to develop your own sense of inner guidance on which you can rely.

This was made clear to me while listening to the last speaker at the Hay House conference. My friends had already left, so I was sitting alone. A young man (probably young enough to technically be my son!) came up and sat near me and began speaking about his weekend. He said his favorite speaker was Wayne Dyer. I shared that the first "spiritual" book I'd read was Wayne Dyer's, Your Erroneous Zones and that I had read it probably about the year this young man had been born.... ok I did not say that, but I did think it.


Since I'd read many of his books, the young man asked what book should he read first. I asked what struck him most about the talk. His answer did not give anything specific. I told him the best advice I could give him is to go to the bookstore (or look on line) and pick up each of the books, read the back and see what strikes him. There are many "good" books out there, but it would be more meaningful if he found what resonates with him. What I "think" might be appropriate to read first may not be what this young man needs to hear first.

Another recent example in my own life is with a very close friend of mine. I had given him a book that appealed to me. It was probably 8 or 10 years ago. I had forgotten that I'd even given it to him. This past month he wrote to tell me that due to a series of events in his life, he had just read it and how meaningful it was to him. I had given him the book when I wanted him to read it, years ago! It would not have resonated with him at that time the way it is now. It was not in my time but in his! This is being your own guru!

How can you do this in your own life? It is fine to listen to what others suggest, but make sure to weigh for yourself is this particular way is right for you. One way is by following your Intuition, which I wrote about in June 2009. You can do this by tuning in to your own internal voice, listening, learning to trust it and then to follow what it is telling you. Each of these steps are important to the process. I wrote much more about intuition in the June 2009 post but I will comment briefly here...

On tuning in and listening... The June 2009 post talks about the other "voices" one may hear and how they may differ from the voice of intuition. That is why I suggest practicing on every day things to learn to distinguish the voice of intuition. Some of these are listed in the intuition post. I also previously wrote that intuition is not fearful. In fact, for me, it is neutral. There is no strong feeling associated with it, which is how I have come to recognize it. Some call it the still small voice, usually more of a whisper, others may get a gut feeling or some may say it is the voice of God. Again, this interpretation may differ from person to person.

On trusting... trusting for me comes from feeling it in my body - it does not happen in my brain. I may hear the voice in my brain, but the KNOWINGNESS comes from the sense I feel - not from logic or weighing options in my head. I just want to caution here again, this is MY experience and that is all I can share with you. I hope that this may spur you to experiment in your own life and find what it is for you!

There is great freedom when one comes to trust in their own inner guidance. One no longer feels the need to consult as often with others, be like anyone else or act in a way that anyone else thinks they should. This is not permission for bad behavior.... intuition will not give that type of guidance. For me, I could only ever be the 2nd or 3rd best Wayne Dyer... or anyone else... if I tried to be like them - But I can be the first best Penelope by following my own guidance and trusting my own inner guru! Be the star in your own life! Become your own guru!

Take a look at the picture of the month in the post below. Our Ten Toes are as individual as we are and as individual as each of our paths are. It is a good analogy for being one's own guru! My good friend Kristin is doing just that! She has a photography business in South Florida called Captured Photography in which she captures the moments of our lives.

I would love to hear your feedback as well as any questions you may have or topics you may be interested in for the future. I also would like this to be a place where you can share your thoughts about what has worked or not worked for you. Feel free to do so by clicking the “comments” link below, at the end of each post.

Until next month,

Here's hoping you keep it simple,

Penelope

How to make a Watch Disappear!

Quote of the month:
The mind craves for formulations and definitions,

always eager to squeeze reality into a verbal shape.

- Nisargadatta Maharaj

By the end of this post….. I will make a watch disappear! You will, then, also be able to make a watch disappear, if you want to! I must give credit to Tim Freke, author of "How Long is Now?" He is the one who taught me!


First, let’s review just a bit. In August, we talked about the voice and the ego. We talked about how we learned English, but that of course is because we were born in the US….. and had we been born in China, we would have learned Chinese. This is how the voice started, how it is formed...but it then continues by each experience life brings our way, be it in school, our family, the media, church.... or our interactions with others. In our struggle to make sense of the world, our brain categorizes…. our ego makes judgments about what is good and bad, and assumptions about why things are the way they are and why things happen.


This is necessary to function in our world. Look at the picture of the month down two post below, taken on a summer day, this past June, in Times Square, New York City. Notice how many people, shops, lights, etc. When one is walking through Times Square, it isn’t really possible to go into each store or shop in a day or eat at each restaurant. It isn’t possible to stop and say, “Hello” to each person you pass. I recall a study from my Sociology days in college that found people on a crowded city street do not even make eye contact with each other. It is just too much input for us to process! Our brains must categorize and make assumptions in order for us to function. When we left Times Square and walked on the other regular streets in New York City, it almost felt like a relief. Those streets were still busy…. but not AS busy. Still on those streets, we did not make eye contact or greet the people we passed by.


In our efforts to function in the world, we have to make assumptions and judgments. In doing this everything becomes a concept - an idea - something conceived in the mind. This is something that is basically made up that we have all agreed on together. When we see other living beings that look somewhat similar to us, we have all agreed that we will call them “people,” (unless you are in Spain and then you call them “gente” or in China…. “da zhong,” etc….) I knew that “people” were passing by me on the street, but I did not know that Joe Smith or Nancy Brown passed by. I might have noticed a color of someone’s clothing as I passed by but I did not notice if I saw a pair of Hollister jeans. I saw “people” wearing “clothing” and passing by “shops.” Aside from someone who might have a photographic memory, this may be a somewhat similar experience for many of us.
Here is another example, I heard that “Staycation” was recently added to the dictionary. Who had heard of a “staycation” five years ago? We have all agreed that a vacation spent at home or nearby will now be called a “staycation.” Maybe it is simpler to see with this newer concept and how it is basically something we made up!


So, what does this have to do with the watch? Maybe you can guess by now what I am going say. “Watch” is a concept. Most of us know what a watch is and some of you may be wearing one right now. More and more, people depend on their cell phones for time, but I think most of us have grown up knowing what a “watch” is. If I say I am wearing a wrist “watch,” all of you will know what I mean.


So picture me taking off my watch and holding it up in the air. Then I declare, “I am going to make this watch disappear.” Then as Tim Freke explains, “Actually, I’m going to show you how to make the watch disappear using no more than the power of your imagination.”
Can you see the watch in your mind’s eye?


Ok, now I want you to take a moment and imagine that you don’t come from this culture. Imagine that you have been born in the deepest jungles of Borneo and don’t know anything about Western civilization. Then you inexplicably find yourself here with me holding something up in front of you.


What do you see now? Do you see a watch? Probably not.


You only see a watch when you have the concept of “watch.” If you came from the jungles of Borneo, you’d see whatever you could conceptualize. You might see “leather” or “bracelet” or “round metal object,” but you wouldn’t see a “watch.”


We are conscious of what we can conceptualize. If you look around you now, as I am, you will see that you have a concept for everything. I can see “computer”…… “keyboard”…… ”mouse”……. ”cat”……… ”paper”……. Is it like that for you too?


We experience this moment through a filter of concepts. We’re living in our ideas. We’re telling ourselves a story, all of the time, about who we are and what life is…. Sometimes we become so engrossed with our stories that we’ve lost the plot. [For further reading on this topic, please see "How Long is Now?" By Tim Freke]


What I want to suggest in this post that much, if not all, of what the ego/voice is telling you is basically made up. Much of this is necessary to function in every day life, but this also can prevent us from truly living fully. I would further suggest that you try to take off the ego/voice glasses and see the world through unfiltered eyes. Tim suggests stepping out of the conceptual mind and entering into a state of "not knowing."


You have probably heard the old saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” This applies, but I am suggesting that we try to take it a bit further than books. Think about all the judgments and assumptions you make every day. Think about people you see at work or in a store. Some you don’t know at all others you know a little. Do you make assumptions about their lives? What they do when they aren’t at work? Or who they might be spending their time with? Or if they might be taking a staycation?


It really goes much further than this…. The way we then interact with those people is based on our assumptions. We are not really interacting with them so much as interacting with our idea about who they are. And guess what…. They are interacting with their idea of who you are too. Do the two of you ever really meet?


The ego, the judgments, the voice, the assumptions won’t really go away. Elizabeth Lesser says that the ego is a part of us. It’s like having an arm. It is part of being a human being. What I want to suggest here is that hanging out in the observer mode (see blog post from September 2009) allows us to notice when we may be making some of these judgments and realize that there is a lot of made up “stuff” out there. If we can first recognize it, it gives us the choice if we want to go along with it, or get to know Nancy Brown for real.
I’d like to suggest that it puts the wonder, the magic, the flavor and the mystery back into life. Try it for yourself and see what you think! See if you can make your own watch disappear!


To continue reading the next post, Gratitude, click here.....


I would love to hear your feedback as well as any questions you may have or topics you may be interested in for the future. I also would like this to be a place where you can share your thoughts about what has worked or not worked for you. Feel free to do so by clicking the “comments” link below, at the end of each post.


Until next month….
Here's hoping you keep your spirituality simple!
Penelope