InnerSelf.com

Contemplation
on Your Power

by Peter & Helen Evans

Do you ever think that you're not good enough to act compassionately? Not quite holy enough, so maybe you would rather leave that sort of behavior to the saints and sages, the ministers and priests.  After all, aren't these the people who are in charge of communications with God?

We recently read a story about the Dalai Lama.  He was performing a ceremony and a monk interrupted him, whispered in his ear, and the Dalai Lama broke down weeping.  He had just found out the Chinese had killed over 100 monks and nuns in Tibet. 

He stopped weeping, looked at the crowd, told them the news, and then said, "Let us pray for the Chinese".

He wasn't being holy, he was being practical.  He was trying to create the type of world he wanted to live in, a world of compassion, not a world of hatred.  By saying let's pray for the Chinese, he was not pardoning their actions, he was choosing between grief and compassion, and he chose compassion. He didn't want a world filled with grief and hatred, he wanted a world filled with compassion.

Our thoughts are things. Our emotions reflect those thoughts -- our world reflects our thoughts. So begin creating the world you want to live in. Making the choice is sometimes difficult. You may have to overcome some familiar habits or reactions. 

The next time someone does something that would ordinarily be annoying, be mindful of the world you'd like to live in, and instead of just automatically being annoyed, choose patience, or love, or laughter.  It is up to you. The next time you read in the newspaper of someone who opposes your beliefs, think of the world you'd like to live in.  The next time you see a murderer on TV, think of what world you would like to live in.  

Use these provocations to remind yourself of what you believe, and what you desire. This is not insincerity.  This is taking control of your own life and making a better world for all of us.

You don't have to be holy,  just be practical.

Recommended book:

Ethics for the New Millennium
by the Dalai Lama.

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About The Authors

Peter and Helen Evans live in Ojai, California and are ministers under the auspices of the Church of Religious Science.  They are counselors, practitioners of Therapeutic Touch and teachers of Integral Yoga, based on the teachings of Sri Aurobindo. Their principal aim is to bring Love to Life, in whatever way they can. Their postal address is: 750 Highland Drive, #122, Ojai, CA, USA  93023.

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