"Be Impeccable With Your Word. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love."
~Miguel Angel Ruiz


 The Triple-Filter Test



  In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?"


"Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be good idea to take a moment and filter what you’re going to say. That’s why I call it the triple filter test. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"


"Well, no," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and…"


"All right," said Socrates. "So you don’t really know if it’s true or not. Now, let’s try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?"


"Umm, no, on the contrary…"


"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about my friend, but you’re not certain it’s true. You may still pass the test though, because there’s one filter left—the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?"


"No, not really."


"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither true, nor good, nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"


~ Author Unknown






What you don't see with your eyes, don't witness with your mouth.  ~Jewish Proverb






Do not repeat anything you will not sign your name to.  ~Author Unknown

It is one of my sources of happiness never to desire a knowledge of other people's business.  ~Dolley Madison

P.S: 

What was true in the days of Socrates,holds good in every age.

What if,

every conversation could pass this vital triple test of truth,goodness and usefulness ???? 

Imagine what life on this planet would then be like :) 
Namaste,
Bhagya

                 

           

    

"The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man."  ~Author Unknown

Nature's Beauty


 A priest was in charge of the garden within a famous Zen temple. He had been given the job because he loved the flowers, shrubs, and trees. Next to the temple there was another, smaller temple where there lived a very old Zen master.


One day, when the priest was expecting some special guests, he took extra care in tending to the garden. He pulled the weeds, trimmed the shrubs, combed the moss, and spent a long time meticulously raking up and carefully arranging all the dry autumn leaves. As he worked, the old master watched him with interest from across the wall that separated the temples.


When he had finished, the priest stood back to admire his work. "Isn't it beautiful," he called out to the old master. "Yes," replied the old man, "but there is something missing. Help me over this wall and I'll put it right for you."


The priest lifted the old fellow over and set him down. Slowly, the master walked to the tree near the center of the garden, grabbed it by the trunk, and shook it. Leaves showered down all over the garden.


"There," said the old man, "you can put me back now."


~ Author Unknown



"In wilderness I sense the miracle of life, and behind it our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia."  ~Charles A. Lindbergh



P.S:
Wherever and whenever humans have tried to interfere with Nature ........it has been detrimental to the well being of ALL.The desire to control everything and everyone has not proved beneficial at all. 

                                                                                  

The leaves under a tree serve an important purpose of going back into the soil and enriching it......so nothing in Nature is ever a waste......and a tree that is allowed to grow is much more beautiful that one that has been interfered with..........
Namaste,
Bhagya

A Memo from God

                                                                                 
"Remember always that there are two things which are more utterly incompatible even than oil and water, and these two are trust and worry.  Can you call it trust, when you have given the saving and keeping of your soul into the hands of God, if day after day you are spending hours of anxious thought and questionings about the matter?  When believers really trust anything, they cease to worry about the thing they have trusted."
~Hannah Whitall Smith

A Memo from God

* I AM God


* Today I will be handling all your problems


* Please remember that I do not need your help.


* If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it.


* Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box.


* It will be addressed in MY time, not yours.


* Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold on to it or remove it.


* Holding on or removal will delay the resolution of your problems.


* If it is a situation that you think you are capable of handling, please consult me in prayer to be sure that it is the proper resolution.


* Because I do not sleep nor do I slumber, there is no need for you to lose any sleep. Rest my child. If you need to contact me, I am only a prayer away.


* Be happy with what you have.


* Should you find it hard to sleep tonight just remember the homeless family who has no bed to lie on.


* Should you find yourself stuck in traffic; don't despair.


* There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.


* Should you have a bad day at work; Think of the man who has been out of work for years.


* Should you despair over a relationship gone bad; think of the person who has never known what it's like to love and be loved in return.


* Should you grieve the passing of another weekend; think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to feed her children.


* Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance; think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take a walk.


* Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror, think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine.


* Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all about, asking "what is my purpose?" Be thankful.
* There are those who didn't live long enough to get the opportunity.


* Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities; remember, things could be worse.
* You could be them!!!


* Should you decide to give this to a friend; you might brighten someone's day.


~Author Unknown


  


P.S:  
You may have come across this memo before,but it is really nice to go back to it every now and then because it has the power to  put things in perspective and restore balance .
Ever so often when we let go and let God.........we find solutions.
Despite the clouds.....(it is a cloudy morning here....the south west monsoon setting in......:)may your day be as bright as you desire and allow it to be.
Namaste,
Bhagya

"Never mistake motion for action."           ~Ernest Hemingway





Motion


To the disciples who were always asking for words of wisdom the Master said,


"Wisdom is not expressed in words. It reveals itself in action."


But when he saw them plunge headlong into activity, he laughed and said,


"That isn't action. That's motion."



~Anthony de Mello

"Sitting quietly, doing nothing, Spring comes, and the grass grows, by itself."~- Basho

P.S:When the mind,body and spirit work in unison......we are able to take inspired action joyously.....with total involvement ;

as opposed 

to going through the motion....in a perfunctory 

manner....one's mind...somewhere ...the body...... somewhere else and the spirit....conspicuous by its absence.

Namaste,

Bhagya

                                                

"There is no limit to the power of the human mind. The more concentrated it is, the more power is brought to bear on one point; that is the secret." 
~ Swami Vivekananda




Concentration





After winning several archery contests, the young and rather boastful champion challenged a Zen master who was renowned for his skill as an archer. 


The young man demonstrated remarkable technical proficiency when he hit a distant bull's eye on his first try, and then split that arrow with his second shot. "There," he said to the old man, "see if you can match that!"


Undisturbed, the master did not draw his bow, but rather motioned for the young archer to follow him up the mountain. 


Curious about the old fellow's intentions, the champion followed him high into the mountain until they reached a deep chasm spanned by a rather flimsy and shaky log. Calmly stepping out onto the middle of the unsteady and certainly perilous bridge, the old master picked a far away tree as a target, drew his bow, and fired a clean, direct hit. 


"Now it is your turn," he said as he gracefully stepped back onto the safe ground. Staring with terror into the seemingly bottomless and beckoning abyss, the young man could not force himself to step out onto the log, no less shoot at a target.


"You have much skill with your bow," the master said, sensing his challenger's predicament, "but you have little skill with the mind that lets loose the shot."


~Author Unknown


"Energy flows where attention goes."  
  ~Anonymous





"Success in any endeavor requires single-minded attention to detail and total concentration."
~Willie Sutton



P.S:When the mind,body and spirit work in unison the result is always astounding.                                      

P.P.S:Those who boast.......
often do not know much...... those who know do not feel the need to boast.
Namaste,
Bhagya
















                                                             

“May God grant you always...A sunbeam to warm you, a moonbeam to charm you, a sheltering Angel so nothing can harm you. Laughter to cheer you. Faithful friends near you. And whenever you pray, Heaven to hear you.”

 ~Irish Blessings

                                                        


PUT IN A LITTLE TIME DONATION
BECOME A CHEERING SENSATION


Cheering does not take a lot of time.
But it does take a bit in order to have
some results.
It only takes a few minutes to go into
your bank and make a deposit. But you must
actually do it in order to get it into your
account and start growing your money.
Start growing your success.
Deposit a few cheers into your account today.
Live like  hero!
~Terri Marie



“Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what's next, and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young.”
 ~Samuel Ullman







"Joy is a flower that blooms when you do." ~Author Unknown

P.S: May your day be a blissful one... because of cheers you have deposited in your Bank of Life today:)
Namaste,
Bhagya 

"Wisdom is knowing I am nothing, 
love is knowing I am everything, 
and between the two my life moves." ~Nisargadatta Maharaj



A Buddha Is Among You



The abbot of a once famous Buddhist monastery that had fallen into decline was deeply troubled. Monks were lax in their practice, novices were leaving and lay supporters deserting to other centers. He traveled far to a sage and recounted his tale of woe, of how much he desired to transform his monastery to the flourishing haven it had been in days of yore.


The sage looked him in the eye and said, "The reason your monastery has languished is that the Buddha is living among you in disguise, and you have not honored Him." The abbot hurried back, his mind in turmoil


The Selfless One was at his monastery! Who could He be? Brother Hua?...No, he was full of sloth. Brother Po?...No, he was too dull. But then the Tathagata was in disguise. What better disguise than sloth or dull- wittedness? He called his monks to him and revealed the sage's words. They, too, were taken aback and looked at each other with suspicion and awe.


Which one of them was the Chosen One?


The disguise was perfect. Not knowing who He was they took to treating everyone with the respect due to a Buddha. Their faces started shining with an inner radiance that attracted novices and then lay supporters.


In no time at all the monastery far surpassed its previous glory.
~Author unknown



"If you were able to go inward right now and waken your sleeping Buddha, what would you find? Tibetan Buddhism says that at the heart of you, me, every single person, and all other creatures great and small, is an inner radiance that reflects our essential nature, which is always utterly positive. Tibetans refer to this inner light as pure radiance or innate luminosity; in fact, they call it ground luminosity because it is the "bottom line." There is nothing after this, and nothing before this. This luminosity is birthless and deathless. It is a luminescent emptiness, called "clear light," and it is endowed with the heart of unconditional compassion and love."
As a sage of old said, "If not you, who? And if not now, when?"
Source:Awakening the Buddha Within

P.S: 
It's time to awaken the Buddha within. "If not you, who? And if not now, when?"
Namaste,
Bhagya

"If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear?"
~Confucius






Dog, the teacher


The student of a Sufi Adept asked him one day,


 “Master, who guided you to Enlightenment?”


The Adept answered, “A dog was my greatest teacher.”


“A dog!”, exclaimed the student amazed. “how could that be?”


“It was like this”, explained the Adept. “I was watching this dog looking at his reflection in the lake. The dog was almost dying of thirst, yet every time he saw his reflection he was afraid and backed away, barking at what he thought was another dog. 


Finally, overcome by his thirst, the dog jumped into the lake and as he did so, the obstacle to what he sought disappeared. It was merely a reflection and had no power over him and nothing stood between him and the water except his fears. 


In the same way my own obstacle vanished when I realized that there was nothing between me and what I sought. And what I took to be myself was only an illusion with no hold over me. 


It was a dog who taught me this.”



"Thinking will not overcome fear but action will."
~ W. Clement Stone





P.S:More often than not.. fear is considered as something bad....which we need to get rid of.
What if, we were to change the way we think and feel about fear ?
What if, we were to think of it as a part of us trying to protect us and keep us safe ? 
If we could then assure ourselves that we are indeed safe and there is nothing to fear........it would disappear as quietly and quickly as it appeared.
Life's lessons come from everywhere...everyone and everything;we just need to be open and willing to learn.
Namaste,
Bhagya