Living Wisely Living Well | With Asha Nayaswami

Develop a sense of community with others. No one in this world stands alone, though in many ways the opposite seems true, since we come into this life alone and must leave it again at death, quite alone. Yet we come into a welcoming family, and should so live our lives that others weep when we leave this world. Everything we do in our solitary-seeming comings and goings depends, to a great extent, on others. Expand your sense of community to include an ever-larger number of people, until you see everyone on earth as belonging to your own family, in God. Support the show

Respect excellence wherever you find it. True excellence is often the result of group endeavor, but it requires in every case the personal commitment of energy and awareness. Excellence, like everything else that is worthwhile, springs from within the Self. Support the show

Never identify anyone with his personality. Define him, rather, by his intentions, and by the sincerity with which he seeks truth. The personality is only a product of actions and reactions over countless incarnations. The innate goodness of one’s intentions, however, has its origins at their furthest depths, in the Self. Support the show

Direct energy consciously into everything you do. Remember, energy has its own intelligence, and responds willingly to proper guidance. It can make things happen for you that you yourself could not have even planned. Support the show

You belong to all nations. Only temporarily are you an American, Frenchman, Italian, Indian; Christian, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, or Muslim. You belong to all classes. Your social status is only temporarily upper, middle, or lower. No human condition can define you, for you are the pure soul, descended from God who, for all eternity, is your essential, ever-changeless Reality. Support the show

To be creative, first relax your mind, then offer it up to God. Every worthwhile accomplishment was conceived first in the Infinite. Support the show

The teachings of Jesus Christ, and of every great spiritual master, are as fresh, true, and alive today as when they were first declared. Truth never changes with time. Its expression may vary with fluctuations in human understanding, but love, wisdom, and joy are eternal realities. There is no need to “pound your pulpit,” emotionally. All that anyone needs is the awareness that Truth, as taught in all true scriptures, is forever one. Our souls came from God, and our divine assignment is to merge back at last into Him. Support the show

Never depend on your own powers alone. They are inevitably fragile, weak, and inconsistent. But if you place your trust in God, you will find that He readily meets your needs. Ask Him with faith; don’t plead or wheedle with Him. Say, rather, “This is what I am trying to accomplish for You. I need Your strength and guidance to do it well. I’ll do what I can, but You have to do the rest.” Don’t be afraid that you might offend Him by your presumption. Why should He mind? If your desire is to please Him, how can He not approve? Before beginning many a job that I later completed successfully, I’ve said to Him, “I can’t do this on my own, but You can do anything! So come along now: Help me!” Support the show

Give up thinking, “This is mine! all mine!” Tell God, with regard to everything in your life, “This is Thine! all Thine! Nothing is my own except under franchise from Thee.” The less you think of anything as your own, the freer in yourself you will be. And the more you think of everything as His, the more joy will thrill your heart, until you yourself become pure Bliss. Support the show

Imagine every difficulty, every desire, every attachment soaring up and away from you like a balloon, growing smaller with distance until it disappears. Then return to your essential Self, and enjoy your release into infinite freedom. Support the show

Emanate peace in all directions from your heart. Harmonize the vibrations there; then radiate them out to your environment. Feel them entering all hearts, everywhere. Support the show

Work at simplifying your view of life. Seek the simple unity beneath life’s endlessly bewildering complexity. Complexity, whether in work or in relationships, only creates more complexity. To be divinely childlike means to discover perfect oneness in God’s bliss. Support the show

How modern do we owe it to ourselves to be? I myself was born in the then-backward, nearly medieval land of Romania. Never have I made a great effort to bring myself into the modern age. Scientific discoveries have swirled around me. New fads have sprung up. New slang has been tossed merrily from person to person. New ways of looking at things have popped up like jacks-in-the-box. I have chosen to keep myself a little apart from it all, accepting only as much of it as would help me. (These pages, for instance, are being written on a computer.) I say: Pass serenely through life’s fairground of excitements, but let nothing touch you that might take you out of yourself. I myself never watch television, unless for some very specific purpose. I don’t care to be either modern or old-fashioned. Time passes, but divine truth remains forever the same. Why not live in timelessness? Support the show

The Italians have a saying, “Se non è vero, è ben trovato: If it isn’t true, at least it’s well said.” Don’t, however, be lured too far from your own center by the attractive power of epigrams. Where truth is concerned, laugh if you feel to, but in the end, be serious. Support the show

As you wash your body daily, so also, before going to bed in the evening, cleanse your heart of all impure desires and attachments. Free your mind of wrong thoughts, and offer yourself into the clear stream of Divine Bliss. Support the show

Think vastness! Think eternity! Don’t be limited to your present realities. See your thoughts as waves on the vast ocean of cosmic awareness. Support the show

If someone ridicules you, laugh with him if you can. But if his ridicule is mere buffoonery, quietly look away and say nothing. And if he mocks your principles, answer him as he deserves: “Mockery comes easily, to the ignorant.” Has someone slighted you? Thank him. Has someone hurt your feelings? Thank him. Every blow to your ego can boost your soul-awareness. On the other hand, if someone tries to destroy your work, protect it, but be thankful for the reminder that everything is maya: delusion. True fulfillment will be yours only when you’ve escaped Satan’s clutches forever. Support the show

Love others as extensions of your own Self. See everyone as specializing on behalf of the whole human race in being himself. Support the show

A true friend is one with whom you can weep, and not only laugh. Be a true friend to all. Let them feel that you care for them. Weep with them not to increase their sorrow, but to wean them from it altogether. Don’t weep for yourself, however. To be a best friend to all—to yourself as well—strive always to find a way out of darkness into light. Support the show

Include the success of others in your efforts to succeed, yourself. Better a stream that makes green a whole valley than an oasis surrounded by vast stretches of sand. Support the show