The Art of Being You

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As we live the values of spirit—as we take responsibility, act with generosity and find our own peace—life attains its richest form. Without these values, life becomes shallow and we are dependent and unhappy.

Just as the nature of fire is to burn and the nature of water to flow; it is the nature of spirit to uphold and sustain life. When you pay attention to the spiritual values, when you bring them more fully into your life—you become solid and strong. You feel connected to all other human beings.

WHAT IS THE JOURNEY?

The spiritual journey is a homecoming; a journey to a centre space within you where love, joy and peace abide. Truth is often paradoxical: you are coming back to a home which you never left. It has always been a part of you, but you may have been unaware of this aspect of yourself or felt separated from it.

Your journey is for you and about you. It is unfolding right now—wherever you are and however this moment may be. The goal of the journey is to experience the love that you are and to express that love in the world.

As you bring the love, happiness and peace—that is your nature—more fully into your life (in ways we will talk about in the pages ahead) you will benefit yourself, people around you, people you don’t know and may never meet. And the benefit will come back to you.

Every action that you take, comes back to you. This is the law of karma. If you do something harmful, it comes back to you. If you do something beneficial, that merit comes back to you.

It is one thing to know—who you are, to have an intellectual understanding of your true nature. It is another to experience that abiding love, happiness and peace. For this, you need to understand the ways you may be robbing yourself of that experience.

Here, we will look into the nature of the mind and its habit of leaving the present moment, and all the potential it holds to dwell in the past that cannot be changed or to worry about the future that may not be as you now fear it might be.

We will see that when we are caught up in wanting what we do not have or in worrying about losing something we have, we become anxious, fearful and miss the joy available to us in this moment.

We will see how we postpone being happy by looking for some anticipated future event—a promotion, a home, a marriage, a child—to make us happy.

We will learn how to handle the negative thoughts and emotions that bring us down.

We will find that when we allow our happiness to depend on what is always changing (moods, work, finances, relationships), instead of being based on what is unchanging (your eternal and unlimited Self), we risk making ourselves miserable.

This ancient wisdom that has been handed down through the ages is a precious gift. It will restore you to that centered space within you where love, happiness and peace abide.

We think we can find happiness or comfort through material things, but we know from our own experience that material comfort alone is not sufficient. Happiness is a state of being. Comfort is a quality of consciousness. It does depend on material things, but to a far greater degree it depends on our attitude and understanding.

There is no lack of love in you, no lack of anything whatsoever.All wealth lies within you as you are right now.

Every human being is made up of body, mind and spirit. It is possible to ignore the spiritual aspect of life, but count yourself fortunate if you are growing in awareness of this dimension.

Each one of us has come into this world to express the joy, love and peace that we are but we can remain unaware of our inner wealth all our lives. Do not delay. Get back to your Self with all speed. You have been standing at the doorstep long enough; now it is time to bang on the door. When you shut the door to what is past and come into the present, then an inner door opens. In that moment, you feel at peace.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

Why Am I Here?

Questioner:

How can I find out what I am here for?

Sri Sri:

Find out what you are not here for.

You are not here to blame.

You are not here to cry.

You are not here to show off.

You are not here to fight.

You are not here to be miserable.

You are not here to be angry.

You are not here to worry.

Chapter Two

Getting Started

Are you relaxed, unflappable, at ease in the world and enjoying yourself? These qualities are hallmarks of spiritual life.

JUST SHOW UP

What is asked of you on the spiritual path? Simply that you be present. Being present means you are here in this moment…and this moment…and now in this moment. How do you get pulled out of the present moment? When your mind goes to the past or the future, as is its habit; when you are absorbed in situations and events that are changing and passing; or in what someone has said or done—you are not in the present moment. When you are caught up in blaming and complaining; in wanting this and not wanting that—you are not in the present moment.

Sometimes the spiritual aspect of life itself is seen as drawing us away from daily life. It is true that spiritual life benefits one from time set aside for worship, prayer, meditation and silence. It is also true that each moment, however that moment is, is your spiritual life. Running another load of laundry, running late for work, the friend who hung up on you in anger, the relationship you wonder if you should stay in, and laughter, celebration, falling in love—all this is your spiritual life.

All that you seek—love, beauty, God, truth—can only be found in the present. Awareness, the ability to be present to the present, is both a gift and a tool for the spiritual journey.

On the spiritual path your personality will become stable and strong, and life will attain its richest and fullest form. You will experience and express the love and happiness that are your nature.

SHAKE HANDS WITH WHAT IS

Accept the Present Moment As It Is

A next step is to accept this moment as it is. There is nothing you can do to change it—it has already happened. Change can only happen in the next moment. Often acceptance is taken to mean as ‘giving up’—not taking action or not creating change where change is needed. That is not so. Only when you accept what is, you can become calm, think clearly and act powerfully to change what needs to be changed. This is called dynamic acceptance and it affects your state of mind:

DON’T ACCEPT WHAT IS;MIND IN PIECESACCEPT WHAT IS: MIND AT PEACE

Accept Other People As They Are

The second aspect of accepting what is, is to accept other people as they are. Acceptance is not a passive thing. It does not mean that you tolerate rude, unjust or hurtful behavior. It means that if you accept a person who is taking a wrong action, your own mind will be calm and any action you take will be appropriate and effective.

DON’T ACCEPT OTHERS AS THEY ARE: ACT, THEN THINK ACCEPT OTHERS AS THEY ARE: THINK, THEN ACT

Non-acceptance causes you to react. If you react when someone upsets you, you are no longer in control. Whatever you do in this circumstance, you will regret later. Take a moment to think back. Hasn’t this happened to you many times?

When you can say to yourself, “For some reason, this is the best that this person has to offer right now,” you will be set free. You will not be frustrated anew each time the objectionable behavior is repeated. In accepting others as they are, you create a clear space where you can respond in an appropriate and effective way. The problem may remain, but you will no longer be in its grip.

Accepting other people as they are is not always easy, but is it any easier not to accept them? You only become more agitated, and dwelling on another person’s mistake can cause you to make a mistake. It can be a simple shift to accept people as they are, and when that shift happens, a big load is lifted.

When you accept people as they are, those people benefit also. You give them room to change.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

If you have trouble letting go of the feeling. “He shouldn’t have said that or she shouldn’t have done that,” remember that whatever behavior the person exhibited was the best they had to offer at that moment. Some circumstance or event, known or unknown to you, caused that person to act as they did. If you don’t know what that was, try imagining an experience this person might have had that could be behind the rude or hurtful behavior. It also might help you to see this person with compassion, if you can recall something that you had said or done yourself that you later regretted.

As you look for the possible explanations for the actions of others, simultaneously take responsibility for your own. Usually, we do just the opposite— we hold others responsible for what they do and excuse ourselves—“I didn’t mean to say that, I didn’t mean it that way.”

Excusing or forgiving others is important for spiritual growth. In accepting others, you benefit yourself. The more you are able to accept others as they are, the more you will be able to accept yourself as you are. The reverse of this is also true—the more you accept yourself, the more you will be accepting others. Start anywhere in the equation and you will find that a new freedom comes to you and to the people around you.