Rakesh Sethi, BS, CAHP
Wellness Speaker/ Author/
Ayurvedic Practitioner
What is Ayurvedic Consultation?
Posts Tagged ‘Universal Consciousness’
How Religion Benefits or Plays Role in Your Wellness
Religion benefits and plays a very important role in our complete Mind Body Spirit wellness. But how? To answer this let us first define religion. The word Religion comes from Latin word religare. Ligare– means to unite and re– means again or back. So the meaning of religion is the one that “units back to your origin”.
What is our origin? Universal consciousness, force, energy, or out of love we have called this energy “God”. No matter what name you give, our origin is one and the same. The purpose of religion is to open our mind and thereby gaining the ultimate experience which merges all distinctions of color, caste, creed, all philosophies, dogmas, our body, mind, & intellect, time, space, and causation in this world & in all other worlds into ONE. Any systematic approach we take to experience this ONENESS is your Religion.
I find the following short story by William Levacy very interesting in illustrating this point. “It seems that God was sitting one day and playfully remarked, “I would like something more enjoyable to do!” So He decided to create a splendid yet complex game for Himself, perhaps a magnificent puzzle. He decided, “I will make this puzzle out of Me! I will break Myself down into all the myriad creatures and creations of existence, and as part of my game, try to bring all the pieces back together into Myself.” God thought for a second (probably eons in our time) and said, “Now since I am God and I can do anything, I will make this puzzle really challenging and fun. I will not only break Myself into all these pieces of creation and bring Myself back together…but I will also make Myself forget that I did this!”
So our challenge, since we have forgotten, is to become aware of who we really are? In words it is easy for us to recognize who we really are but in actions it is entirely different story. When we act identifying only with our physical body, we are like any other machine. When we act identifying with our body & mind, we are a physical being with emotions. When we act identifying with our body, mind, & intellect, we are a physical being with emotions and ability to think & analyze.
In all above instances we act as if we are separate & disconnected entities from rest of the creation. Beyond BMI (Body, Mind, Intellect) is our real Self (God Itself) that is experiencing the creation thru BMI. And it is this real Self when we identify with, we realize that we are not separate & disconnected. However, our BMI can only experience physical objects, emotions, and thoughts but not the Self. It is not possible for BMI to experience the Self as the Self is the subject sustaining the BMI. Just as when we are holding the tweezers, it is not possible for the tweezers to hold the very fingers that hold the tweezers. This is where the benefits of religion come in to takes us beyond our BMI to experience Self (Oneness, God, Energy, Force, and Universal Consciousness).
As long as we continue to identify only with the BMI, we continue to see ourselves as separate beings disconnected from our origin and suffer. Our suffering stops when we start to assert our real Self in all our physical, emotion, & intellectual actions. Any systematic approach that supports our personal efforts in asserting our true Self in all our actions in life is our religion. Does that mean if we do not belong to any religious institution, we do not have a religion and we need to choose one? Absolutely not! Remember your religion is your own personal systematic approach that works for you. It need not have a label of any religion. On the other hand if you belong to a religious institution, does that mean you need to change your religion or quit the institution? Absolutely not! You only need to evaluate and make changes accordingly.
Carefully evaluate your religious path if it does not take you to the experience of oneness, it should be replaced with the path that does take you to the experience of oneness. Your spirit has inherent affinity for this oneness. When you start stuffing your mind with doctrines, ideas, and thoughts that go against this, it creates “indigestion” for your spirit & mind. To live with such “indigestion” creates conflict in your spiritual body which will ultimately manifest as disease in your mind & physical body. All benefits from religion are lost.
A point to note is every one of us has a religion whether or not we belong to any Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or other faiths. Religion is our personal way of living, our routine, our habits, food we take, emotions we take in & give out, thoughts we have, and all actions we do every moment of our life. If we live true to our Self, we will benefit from our religion in promoting health in us. Your religion is a one-on-one relationship between you and your Self (God). Life is a journey back to our Origin. Enjoy & “travel” in good health.
If you liked this article then biggest compliment you can give is by sharing it with others. As always keep in mind natural health tips along with clean eating offer preventive care and promote health and wellness naturally. Be Well!
Share your comments, thoughts and suggestions below. I appreciate your time & will take the time to read every single one!
Thank you for your time and attention. If you liked this article then biggest compliment you can give is by sharing it with others and spread this awareness. Contact me with your results & feedback.
Be Well!
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Daily Inspirations
Daily Inspirations
It is my privilege to share “daily inspirations” to inspire wellness in your life. The following inspirational thoughts have emerged over the years from reading philosophical and scientific literature, practicing Ayurveda, and of course from observing real life situations. The following pragmatic daily inspirations are subtle but super “food” for your intellect. I hope, these daily inspirations will increase your mental capacity to understand nature’s ways and will support you in releasing the stress in situations you can not or do not control. When you develop mental capacity to let go in difficult situations, you experience true wellness and peace from within.
We will continue to post here new daily inspirations. Please come back from time to time to inspire wellness in yourself and share with others. Be Well.
Rakesh Sethi
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Surviving Bad Economic Times with Growing Spiritual Awareness
Setting “Speed” Limit
Bad economic cycle is just a nature’s way of telling us that we need to lighten up on our material quest. It is great to be on a material quest and enjoy it. I am not implying you need to end it. I am only suggesting that nature is prompting us to set limits on this quest, if we had not already done so. It is not possible to go through life continually accelerating. You have to know your limit and then learn to cruise. In the same way when you enter a freeway you accelerate but then after reaching a speed limit, you cruise. Becoming aware of this fact is a start of spiritual growth to help you with surviving bad economic times.
Learning How to Cruise
No doubt surviving bad economic times can create tremendous anxiety and mental agitation. So besides learning to cruise, it would be even better to grasp how to cruise light. Time is here to drop off excess weight (material or desires for more) and only keep the necessities on your journey. With this action alone, you will immediately lower the level of anxiety and mental agitation. This awareness shapes your spiritual growth. However, I feel the biggest growth is yet to come with the following awareness.
Discovering Real Self
In these bad economic times it is normal to feel down but not out. It is true, what changes in nature outside affects nature inside of us. That is the nature’s law. The question is- has the nature outside of us changed due to bad economy? The fact is, good or bad economy, nature is NOT affected by it. Wouldn’t you agree the sun, the moon, the earth, & the seasons, etc. will continue on their rhythmic cycle without missing a beat? This means nature inside of us is also not affected. Think about it! When you gain or lose wealth, you don’t say you gained or lost yourself.
So discover your real self. It is beyond any wealth.
So go out and feel the smooth touch of the air playing with your skin, soak up the warmth of first ray of sun falling on your face, enjoy the coolness of the water flowing through your body, get pleasure from the sounds of chirping birds, experience the ground below bare feet on the wet grass, and you will start to connect and know your real self is part of this. Cultivate this awareness.
Connecting to Real Self
Such an awareness will help you realize you are more than a just your mental self. You see when you only relate with your mental self, you suffer the agitations. However, when you relate to your real self, calmness comes over you and you live as a witness to all the drama around you (as outlined in the “Movie” example) You didn’t bring any material wealth with you when you were born and nor will you take any with you when you die. The material wealth was never yours and could never define or affect your real self.
Surviving bad economic times requires mental tenacity and can be the test of your perseverance. Let these times be the opportunity for you to discover your real self. In turn let this awareness of your spiritual being become the strength to your mental self in bad economic or in any turbulent times. Be Well!
If you enjoyed this article, you will find this new book very useful. Click to read the Introduction.
New Book:
Cruising Through Turbulence: An Inspirational Guide for Your Wealth and Wellbeing in Difficult Economic Times and Beyond
By Rakesh Sethi, BS, CAHP
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How a Movie Example can Teach Us About Spiritual Healing?
I want to share a short real life example that I hope will change the way you look at yourself and your role in this life forever. The wisdom in this example challenges your subtle intellect and awakens your spirituality to question your real-self and role in this life. As soon as you begin to practice this awareness, spiritual healing starts to replace your sufferings with peace, health, and wellness.
Do You Ever Question This After Watching a Movie?
A friend comes back after watching a movie. He can not stop talking about how good the movie was. The story touched him in many levels. Sometimes he laughed and another he even cried. I asked him why he liked so much. He liked it because the actors played their parts so real and the story unfolded beautifully not knowing what will happen next. These are main hallmarks of any good movie. He enjoyed the movie even though he cried through the tragic, depressing, and sad parts of the story. But if similar tragic events happened in my friend’s life, he wouldn’t enjoy the experience of suffering as he did while watching the movie. Why is that?
This is a question that warrants a closer observation. Is it because we enjoy watching tragedy in other people’s lives? I hope not. Or is it because, we engage with the movie as a witness knowing very well that all characters in the storyline are just actors. Each actor also knows it is a temporary role and not their real self so they also enjoy and do their best to play their role. In fact their real self is observing to make sure that their character comes across real whether it is rich, poor, good, funny, or tragic role. And after the movie is over, everyone goes on their new and separate ways.
Doesn’t That Sound Familiar?
Now think subtly. Isn’t this what happens in our life? We try to perform our role on this “stage” of life to the best of our ability in good, sad, or bad times. While performing, if we strictly identify with the physical self playing the character role permanently, we suffer. On the other hand while performing if we identify with our higher spiritual self (individual consciousness), we realize the character role we are playing is temporary, and our higher spiritual self is overseeing as a witness. Remember, my friend really enjoyed the movie as a witness. So it is with our life. Identify with your higher self, become and live as a witness, and enjoy while performing your physical role with full vigor and conviction. With such awareness, you enjoy playing any role just as the actors enjoy playing their roles in the movie.
Now Put This to Work for You
Can you cultivate this subtle shift in your awareness about your self? It will not be easy, especially the way we are programmed to live. You need to give your self time to reflect. Be among people with such attitudes. Read inspiring, motivating, and thought provoking writings, books, or poems. Recently I came across a wonderful collection of inspiring and spiritually healing poems and other work by an artist, Milo Adorno. Do whatever it is you need to do to cultivate this spiritual awareness.
I am not saying you have to enjoy your sufferings. I am saying that living with such spiritual awareness you can enjoy the experience of healing while suffering. One common theme that was found in most 70 and older healthy people aging gracefully was their ability to accept and then let go of the tragic events in their lives.
You see spiritual awareness causes subtle mental shift that creates powerful healing effect that permeates health and wellness through out your mind and body. In fact the impact of spiritual healing on our mind body health is far greater than the foods, herbs, or any other supplements.
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How Do I Save This Marriage or a Relationship? Part 3
This is third article in this series. (Click here to read Part 1.) Both partners form a certain image of the other and along with that create certain expectations in their minds. However, it is next to impossible that partners will meet expectations as per the image in their mind about the other. This is one of the ingredients in the recipe for unhappy relationships and marriages. The fact is each person is bound to act with the nature he or she is born with. Can you ever expect a tiger changing its nature to a deer and vice-versa? You can not! However, lucky for us, to some extent humans can change their nature overtime. To save this marriage or relationship, you can try to change your partner, but understand the changes may come slowly or may not come at all so be prepared to accept your partner as they are.
I am not suggesting you accept your partner blindly. Or on the other hand look for another partner because new partner will come with new differences so in either case you would have to deal with differences in nature. My suggestion is, if you would like to save this marriage or relationship, carefully analyze and understand your partner’s nature, try to make changes where your partner is willing change, and adapt yourself to deal with your partner’s nature, where he/she you know will not change.
The other common mistake is partners enter into a relationship with an attitude that they have a right over the other partner to place demands; after all, they have earned this by committing rest of their life to this relationship. Such dictatorial attitude only creates resentment in the other partner. Overtime, this sinks a marriage or any relationship. To save this marriage or any relationship, you must form an attitude of duty and service and NOT of rights and demands. You must think in terms of your duty towards your partner and how best you can serve your partner. Such an attitude from both partners can bring happiness and harmony to marriage or any relationship.
You might say what if I do it but my partner doesn’t reciprocate in the same way. While in this case, it can be difficult to save your marriage or relationship, but always remember this; a true service is done without the expectation of any thing in return and second no action goes unrewarded. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Somehow through society or others goodness will come back to you. This is the law of nature. You can see this law in action by looking at the lives of many famous people, for example, Gandhi, Martin L. King, who gave without expecting anything in return and they received multifold in return. I am only mentioning theses examples to substantiate that the nature’s law works and it will work for you as well.
I hope you will reflect on the wisdom behind these suggestions. Once you connect with the wisdom in these higher values, your intellect strengthens your resolve with the support of your consciousness. With this strength, you can control your mind’s whims and demands that create disharmony within you. This, I hope, in turn will help you create harmony and happiness in any unhappy relationship and save this marriage.
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What is Unconditional Love and Its Role in Our Relationships?
What is unconditional love? Simple as it may appear, it is perhaps the most misunderstood & misused phrase in our relationships. Unconditional love is a benevolent feeling that emerges from deeper level of our Consciousness (our life coach) for all of creation- rocks, plants, animals, human beings, etc., regardless of their shape, size, color, nature, or actions in the nature. 
It is because every one of us has the same Universal Consciousness that is pervading through all life & nonlife forms connecting all of creation to ONE source.
Observe nature & you will find Universal Consciousness expressing Itself differently through each entity in creation depending upon what “clothing” it’s wearing and what role it’s playing in the nature. Thus the Universal Consciousness is conditioned by the “clothing” it is wearing. Once we understand this truth, living with unconditional love for all forms & beings becomes not only easy but brings peace to us as well.
What is unconditional love in our relationships with other beings and creation around us? Well, let me try to answer this by telling an interesting mythological story. A very long time ago a king cobra snake ruled good middle portion of the forest by using his wits & scary tactics. Most people & animals were scared of him and tried to take different trails to avoid confronting him. One day the snake overheard some people travelling thru the forest about a great saint. Out of curiosity, snake decided to go and listen to what this saint had to say. Snake didn’t want to create any trouble around so many people so he hid himself between the rocks where he could still clearly hear the saint. The saint spoke truths about of Universal Consciousness, unconditional love, and peace. The message resonated with snake and from that day forward he decided to change his behavior towards his fellow beings. The snake started to approach all passing through with politeness & affection but much to his dismay he met with rejection and even got stones thrown at him. Injured, bruised, & with tears in skin, snake was lying on the side of a trail when the saint just happen to pass thru there. Saint asked the snake what happened. After listening to the snake’s story, saint clarified that first you must know who you are before jumping into showing unconditional love to just anyone.
The story makes a point, even though unconditional love resonates at our consciousness level, we can not relate unconditionally at the physical level. First we must know our own conditioning, what “clothing” are we wearing, and then be aware of what “clothing” a person or creation in front of us is wearing. So while the Loving can and should be unconditional, the Relating at physical level can not be unconditional. If we do not follow this nature’s rule we will be battered, bruised, abused, and left in misery in our relationships.
One Notable Exception– This rule doesn’t apply to a Self-realized person. Such a person has merged & become one with consciousness. His thoughts & actions are no longer conditioned by his own (ego) body mind & intellect. Loving & relating for such a person has transcended all physical conditioning & is seen & felt by others simply as pure consciousness. Examples are Christ, Buddha, & a few others.
So before we reach the Self-realized state, what can we do?
As long as we engage in life thru our physical body, mind, and intellect, we see ourselves as separate & distinct from others and our outward actions are conditioned with our desires and ego. Inadvertently, this makes the relating with the outer physical world conditional as well. Therefore, for now we must utilize our Unconditional Love (life coach) to guide our actions to be selfless and harmless to others and environment around us. As a result, one can imagine harmonious relationships, peace, and promoting health & wellness in their lives.
What Do You Think? Feel Free to Speak Your Mind
Share your comments, thoughts and suggestions below. I appreciate your time & will take the time to read every single one!
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What is Meditation and It’s Purpose? Part 1
Every day the bombardment of life’s responsibilities crowd our daily thoughts. Constant conversation about what we “have to do” and “should be doing” plague our minds. The chatter seems endless as does all the required activity of daily living. As we have transitioned into “technology-based, information-loaded“ lifestyle, it seems as if there is no restful moment for a quiet mind. People look towards meditation to quiet the chatter, calm the mind, and develop single pointed concentration. However, there is more to meditation. Before we answer what is meditation, take a look at how we have entangled ourselves into the outside world?
What Are We Part of?
We live in a fast paced stressful environment. Whether it is conscious or unconscious choice, we have become part of it. In the spirit of competition & winning, we are trying to “keep up” or “out-perform” our fellow co-workers or neighbors. Our American culture, up through 2008, has been based on acquisition of “stuff” to validate our success and worth in society. The more we have the more we think the world says to us, “Atta boy, good job!” This outside recognition keeps us running on that economic wheel.
There is no end to this race. We strive for years chasing the false illusion that when we make the next goal, the next promotion, the bigger house, the faster car we will feel that level of satisfaction. And every goal we accomplish, the feeling is satisfying momentarily. Then once that feeling fades away, the dissidence begins again, and we start striving to next goal see if we can attain that momentary feeling of satisfaction. Unfortunately, the race continues month after month, year after year. Without self-reflection, the race usually ends for a person when he is physically or mentally unable to carry on. We have created ourselves a never ending “pressure cooker” and live in it with stress.
Why Meditate?
To find relief, some of us jumped on to meditation to relieve stress. Meditation, among other things, does reduce stress, calms the nerves, & relax the body systems, which leaves us feeling refreshed after this exercise. Could the purpose of meditation be to reduce stress?
Keep in mind meditation has not removed the causes of stress which continue to agitate the mind. So the underlying problem is never resolved- thus an agitated mind cannot take to meditation and draw lasting benefits from the meditation, benefits are only temporary. So we go in cycle from stress to meditation – meditation to stress. Meditation is then reduced to forcing yourself to sit in a quiet place and focusing on an object, place, person, or mantra and it no longer provides the same refreshing feeling that it used too. One day the effect of stress catches up resulting in some sort of a disease and we render the meditation as a useless maddening practice.
How did we miss the very purpose of meditation? Are we practicing meditation after the fact? How can we turn this around?
What is meditation and its ultimate purpose?
Meditation is to practice our intellect to keep our mind on exclusively one & one thing alone. Our intellect must always keep strict observation over our mind & prevent the mind from wandering off into past or future or flowing into multiple thought streams. The best time to practice meditation is at sunrise and sunset. This is when outside nature is calm and supports calmness in you.
However, the practice of meditation just doesn’t end there. Now we bring this practice and apply it all day long at work, at home, with relationships, and in any other situations. It is just like an athlete, who practices & improves his skill on his own, and come game time, he puts his practice to work. So it is with meditation. You must put it to work in the field; the purpose of meditation is not just sitting alone practicing in a room at home. Discover benefits of meditation in part 2 of the meditation series.
If you liked the benefits of this article then the biggest service you can give is by sharing its benefits with others.
Be Well!
Rakesh Sethi
Share your comments, thoughts and suggestions below. I appreciate your time & will take the time to read every single one!
