Total Thoughts (November 8, 2009) - Abortion, Indecision

Total Thoughts:

Abortion, Indecision (On Wings and Wheels pages 44-46)

 

• Abortion is a serious decision, not to be taken lightly - this is something that we should acknowledge and understand the long term consequences of and how it impacts our decisions and actions
  
• We should take a long term view of decision making - we should practice thinking something through, even if we would still perform the action as it will allows us to become more aware of the decision at hand and will allow us to reflect on the experience with the possibility (in some cases) of revisiting the decision later and learning from it
• It is beneficial to strive for inner peace - when you are at peace with yourself, it can help in the decision making process because you have faith in what the outcome will be rather than being attached to the expectation of the outcome
  
• Indifference contributes to indecisiveness - a useful technique could be to question how certain decisions affect us and how they are connected to the 'bigger picture'. for small decisions an effective tool can be to flip a coin and follow through with the result
  
• We can reflect on Sati - when we reflect on Sati, we should think about how it was related to the time and understand what learning can be adapted to modern day society
  
• Education can benefit society - we should think about the most effective way to deliver education to society as inspiring people often is more effective and impactful than governing people
  
• Social patterns change over time -  we associate with different role models over time and sometimes it helps to take a step back and raise our awareness to re-evaluate whether we are learning from the right role models
  

"Desire is at the root of all actions, good or evil" - Swami Chinmayananda

 

Inspire-Love-Be,

Total Thoughts (November 1, 2009) - Social Conscience and Euthanasia

Total Thoughts:
 

Social Conscience and Euthanasia (On Wings and Wheels pages 41 - 44)

 

• Things that are taught to us become our belief - our actions and decisions may be influenced by learned behaviour and we should gain a better understanding of how this learned behaviour affects us to better direct our actions and decisions
  
• Selfishness can be controlled - it is in our nature to be selfish, however with increased knowledge and awareness we can exercise more control
  
• We should not treat people differently based on their title/association - it is beneficial to make our relationships more straight-forward and simple, therefore relationships will be less complex and we can achieve more peace
  
• Performing actions and having expectations is not sustainable - if we have expectations then there will be room for disappointment, therefore making the journey to contentment more difficult
  
• You can be closer to God through self-development - this is something that we should continue to practice and strive for
  
• Should avoid the term '"God" - there are many interpretations and the translation can sometimes be confused in certain situations
  
• The book "Island" by Aldous Huxley is a good read - examines many of our discussion/life topics
  

 

"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest" - Benjamin Franklin

 

Inspire-Love-Be,

Total Thoughts (October 18, 2009) - Meditation

Total Thoughts:

 

Meditation (On Wings and Wheels pages 38 - 40)

• We have to make reasons to follow through with meditation and not make excuses to not follow through - skipping meditation is easy, just as being mediocre is easy
• Sincerity is a key factor to being successful with meditation - if we truly appreciated the benefit of meditation we would be sincere
• Unfortunately our gauge of what is beneficial and what is not has become utterly gross and immediate - the benefits of meditation are subtle and lasting in addition to being gross and immediate so why do we invest so little into meditation
• To be able to meditate we have to be comfortable with being alone - solitude is a catalyst to contemplation
• Meditation is a means to Enlightenment - this means is the practice of believing we are Infinite rather than finite

' The rich have a superfluous store of things which they do not need and which are, therefore, neglected and wasted; while millions starve and are frozen to death for want of them.  If each retained possession only of what he needed, none would be in want and all would live in contentment. ' --- Mahatma Gandhi

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Total Thoughts (October 4, 2009) - Values of Life (Cont'd)

Total Thoughts:
 
Values of Life (On Wings and Wheels pages 36 - 38)

• Self-integration is that discipline whereby the wants of the mind become obedient to the needs of the intellect - sans self-integration our inner and outer achievements will always be dismal
• Discipline is necessary to be content - if we are not disciplined we will not be aware of our wants nor needs and naturally this will only result in confusion
• When our focus is on increasing the number of desires fulfilled we are consenting to run a race that never ends, leading to exhaustion - by focusing on decreasing the number of desires entertained we have chosen to run a race with a finish line, leading to Joy
• Striving for equipoise one discovers one becomes peaceful in all situations - when our mind is quiet we become amazing in all we undertake
• Our discussions are an ideal forum to reevaluate what we want to achieve - only when we know what we want to achieve can we be successful

' He who writes poetry is not a poet. He whose poetry has become his life, and who has made his life his poetry - it is he who is a poet. ' --- Subramanya Bharathi
 
Inspire-Love-Be,
 

Total Thoughts (September 27, 2009) - Values of Life

Total Thoughts:
 
Values of Life (On Wings and Wheels pages 31 - 35)

• By being disciplined in outer lifestyle we contribute to our inner stability - tapas (voluntary discipline) enables titiksha (forbearance)
• Charity has to be a way of life not just an occurrence here and there - we have to give our whole being (i.e. effort, time, funds, skills, etc.) for us to know what charity really is
• We discover the true value of an object, being or situation when we give it away - the best way to prove or disprove the latter is to try being charitable
• Keeping our outer surroundings pure is exponentially more easy than keeping our inner being pure - funnily and sadly we are so bold in claiming that our physical environment is not a reflection of our mind
• By forcing ourselves to smile and speak gently, inevitably the force will disappear and these positive behaviours will be natural - living a value based life is only complicated and difficult if we want it to be

Foundation for our upcoming discussion:  Values of Life (On Wings and Wheels pages 36 - 40)

 
' Melancholy is the language of delusion; joy is the music of Truth. ' --- Swami Chinmayananda
 

Inspire-Love-Be,

Total Thoughts (September 20, 2009) - In Pursuit of Higher Values

Total Thoughts:

In Pursuit of Higher Values (On Wings and Wheels pages 28 - 31)

• Just as the majority of an iceberg is unseen so too the majority of our personality is unexpressed - by developing more awareness we are able to purify the subtler layers of our personality
• Most of us claim to live a life based on values but when push comes to shove do we still uphold these values - through introspection do we come to understand what we really base our lives on
• If we all cultivated 'big picture ethics' then 'little picture ethics' would be absorbed into this - in the same way, when our vision is of Oneness, our egos would dissolve
• Values are a means and not an ends in themselves - we abide by values to make us eligible to abide in our Infinite Nature
• Most of the education society propagates is towards valuables (limited) and not values (limitless) - is it a wonder then that unnecessary conflict is ever present

Foundation for our upcoming discussion:  Values of Life (On Wings and Wheels pages 31 - 35)

 

' I emphasize that I am full of ambition and hope and of full charm of life.  But I can renounce all at the time of need and that is the real sacrifice. ' --- Bhagat Singh

 

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Total Thoughts (May 3, 20090) - Free Will

Total Thoughts:

Free Will

·         Accepting moral responsibility is important – there is an obvious difference between the level of responsibility one wants to accept, but we should strive to accept more responsibility to encourage self-development and growth

·         Both the short-term and long-term are affected by fate - we should not think of fate as something that only affects the future as the concept itself implies that all events are interconnected as one (i.e. the big picture and the individual's role in the whole). Therefore short-term events/decisions should be regarded as significant as their outcome

·         The concept of fate is logical but not always practical – free will is more likable, therefore we should implore this knowledge when faced with negative situations as it will help us gain perspective and promote a healthy positive attitude

·         Accepting fate can help alleviate worry/stress – if we practice accepting this notion, we will worry less about 'getting to point B' and can therefore feel more motivated and productive in the interim

·         Meditation helps grow awareness – meditation should not be considered thought control, rather it should be viewed as aiding in helping develop our awareness and reflecting on something higher

·         Everything has purpose and reason – If we reflect upon this, it is easy to see the importance in treating every relationship seriously. This will help us to become stronger, smarter and therefore more empowered

Foundation for our Upcoming Discussion May 10, 2009:  The Relationship between Religion and Behaviour.

 "Success or achievement is not the final goal.  It is the 'spirit' in which you act that puts the seal of beauty upon your life" – Swami Chinmayananda

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