"How we perceive a situation and how we react to it is the basis of our stress. If you focus on the negative in any situation, you can expect high stress levels. However, if you try and see the good in the situation, your stress levels will greatly diminish."
-- Catherine Pulsifer
Kimberly Brown, “What You’re Not Doing Matters”
1. Self-care.
“A human being isn’t meant to be some kind of machine designed only for production. No. Human life isn’t just for work…”
2. Worry is useless.- RATHER THINKING OF SOLUTIONS - FULL CATASTROPHE THINKING - AMIDOS
“If you have fear of some pain or suffering, you should examine whether there is anything you can do about it. If you can, there is no need to worry about it; if you cannot do anything, then there is also no need to worry.”
3. Compassion.
“True compassion is not just an emotional response, but a firm commitment founded on reason. Therefore, a truly compassionate attitude toward others does not change, even if they behave negatively. Through universal altruism, you develop a feeling of responsibility for others: the wish to help them actively overcome their problems.”
4. Sincerity.
“All I can do is engage with complete sincerity. Then whatever happens, there is no regret.”
5. Happiness.
“Happiness is a state of mind. With physical comforts if your mind is still in a state of confusion and agitation, it is not happiness. Happiness means calmness of mind.”
6. The power of our mind.
“We are the creators of our own happiness and suffering, for everything originates in the mind.”
7. Procrastination.
“You must not procrastinate. Rather, you should make preparations so that even if you did die tonight, you would have no regrets. If you develop an appreciation for the uncertainty and imminence of death, your sense of the importance of using your time wisely will get stronger and stronger.”
8. The enemies within.
“Anger and hatred are the real enemies that we must confront and defeat, not the ‘enemies’ who appear from time to time in our lives.”
9. Goodness.
“I have come to the conclusion that whether or not a person is a religious believer does not matter. Far more important is that they be a good human being.”
10. Perspective.
“It is very rare or almost impossible that an event can be negative from all points of view.”
11. Impermanence.
“According to Buddhist psychology most of our troubles stem from attachment to things that we mistakenly see as permanent.”
12. Emotions.
“We cannot overcome anger and hatred simply by suppressing them. We need to actively cultivate the antidotes: patience and tolerance.”
13. Love and kindness.
“Love and kindness are the very basis of society. If we lose these feelings, society will face tremendous difficulties; the survival of humanity will be endangered.”
14. Effort.
“Without your own effort it is impossible for blessings to come.”
15. Helping others.
“It is necessary to help others, not only in our prayers, but in our daily lives. If we find we cannot help others, the least we can do is to desist from harming them.”
16. The present moment.
“Time passes unhindered. When we make mistakes, we cannot turn the clock back and try again. All we can do is use the present well.”
17. Self-created suffering.
“We often add to our pain and suffering by being overly sensitive, over-reacting to minor things, and sometimes taking things too personally.”
18. Mind-body connection.
“Consider that not only do negative thoughts and emotions destroy our experience of peace, they also undermine our health.”
19. Earth.
“We must cultivate a universal responsibility toward each other and extend it to the planet that we have to share.”
20. A ripple effect.
“If you want to change the world, first try to improve and bring about change within yourself. That will help change your family. From there it just gets bigger and bigger. Everything we do has some effect, some impact.”
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From the analysis of the previous verse, it is clear that the ego or any of the limited identity we take and impose on the Self, is an illusion. My true nature is indeed pure existence and Consciousness. Now, a doubt may arise: Which Consciousness illumines the Existence-Self? Or how will I know the Self when the body, senses, mind, and intellect are all negated? Or is there any necessity of mind or any other tool or means to realise the Self? The answer is given by Sri Ramana in this verse.
The conditionings of the body, senses, mind and intellect are superimposed on the pure Self only due to ignorance. Since the Self is self-evident and self-luminous (as I-I), it shines with all its glory even when the conditioning or the superimposition is negated. The doubt regarding another Consciousness illuminating the Self arises because we do not realise that the Self is self-evident and self-luminous. Vedฤnta explains this further. Firstly, a self-illuminating "entity" does not require any other light to illumine it, nor is such a light available. For example, a torch light is not required to see the sun. It is self illuminating and hence self-evident.
Then, does Consciousness illuminate Existence? The word "Existence" here implies Pure Existence or IS-ness or BE-ing-ness (to simply BE/Exist), not to be confused with gross or material existence. So, is Consciousness different from Existence? If Existence is different from Consciousness then whole Existence will become inert and lifeless. Alternatively if Consciousness is considered different from Existence then, entire Consciousness will become non-existent (because what's different from existence can only be non-existent). Both ways, it is illogical. Furthermore, our experience is 'I am' and 'I know that I am!' This shows that the Self is indeed the Pure Existence and Pure Consciousness.
Existence alone is Consciousness. Consciousness is Existence and that Pure Existence-Consciousness is what I am. Hence there can be no "other" entity that can know the reality of Self/Consciousness that can be apart from Self/Consciousness. The sages and Scriptures say the same thing in multiple ways and statements like - "One cannot know Him through mind", "God cannot be described or known (by mind or any other means)", "To know Him is to dissolve in Him", "Seeing God is Being God" etc. In short, only that which is Self/Truth/Consciousness/God, by virtue of simply BE-ing (the way it really IS) - can and does "know" the Self/Truth/Consciousness/God.
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"Cherish your solitude. Take trains by yourself to places you have never been. Sleep out alone under the stars. Learn how to drive a stick shift. Go so far away that you stop being afraid of not coming back. Say no when you don't want to do something. Say yes if your instincts are strong, even if everyone around you disagrees. Decide whether you want to be liked or admired. Decide if fitting in is more important than finding out what you're doing here."
-- Eve Ensler
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There is no mind in that state, as you rightly said (or we can also say there is no identification with the mind at all). The objective knowing requires mind. In this case the subject is not experiencing any object, the subject is 'experiencing' itself only. This requires no mind. The Sun needs no torch or candle to reveal anything, for it itself is self-illuminating by its very nature. You will find this concept that "Atman is Self-illuminating" in many Vedantic and mainstream Hindu Scriptures. That's what it means, it's Self-evident and Self-revealed and requires no mind. Consciousness is naturally and effortlessly Conscious of itself as well. It's also called Vimarsha Shakti - "I am Consciousness and I am aware of this (by the virtue of consciousness only)." This is the nature of direct realization and will be directly experienced when the mind subsides/ dissolves or becomes still. You may also refer to the above verses that I have forwarded which explain the same thing. Also, in that state, you don't 'feel' anything objectively, as there is no sense of duality between the 'experiencer' and the 'experienced'. There is pure non-dual homogeneous BE-ing and we can say that it verily contains the direct knowledge that "I am Sat-Chit-Ananda" and there is no need of any tool like mind, to know this. It's the direct knowledge of the Self which is contained within the Self itself. Hope this helps :)
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