Strength and courage to be oneself

"In order for us to liberate the energy of our strength, our weakness must first have a chance to reveal itself"

~Paolo Coelho "The Witch of Portobello"

Just one of the books I read on my trip by Coelho and as always found myself very much inspired. Coelho has a wonderful talent for that. His writing is simple, symbolic, yet its the simplicity that works the best for his oh-how-important message... Be yourself, always follow your heart, never stop dreaming or having faith in your dreams. Have the courage to be a true individual, find your own song and dance, your inner joy- only thus can you help others who are suffering. 

In many cases in order to find oneself and live from one's source it is necessary to go against the grain, against good public opinion, against the norms of the society, against the wishes of one's family... Risking the loss of loved ones by doing so. How many of us have the courage? Yet if I think of the reward- discovering ones Divinity, Joy, Power, understanding the very reason we chose to be born into this life and live, really Live- with passion and truth and love, thus inspiring others! Isn't that worth even the deepest loss in an everyday sense?

The true harvest

"If the day and the night are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is more elastic, more starry, more immortal - that is your success. All nature is your congratulation, and you have cause momentarily to bless yourself. The greatest gains and values are farthest of being appreciated. We easily come to doubt if they exist. We soon forget them. They are the highest reality... The true harvest of my daily life is somewhat as intangible and indestructible as the tints of morning and evening. It is a little star-dust caught, a segment of the rainbow which I have clutched."

~ Henry David Thoreau

How we could bridge the gap

The mind creates division

And division is another name

For devastating pain.

The heart creates oneness,

And oneness is another name

For spontaneous joy.

Sri Chinmoy

Go to the truth beyond the mind. Love is the bridge.

Stephen Levine

Art by Navitrolla : "How We Could Bridge the Gap"

Free-falling

The most profound quote that I have ever read has to be Joseph Campbell's "We're in a free-fall into future. We don't know where we're going. Things are changing so fast, and always when you're going through a long tunnel, anxiety comes along. And all you have to do to transform your hell into a paradise is to turn your fall into a voluntary act. It's a very interesting shift of perspective and that's all it is... joyful participation in the sorrows and everything changes."
The first time I read it I felt a shock of electricity go through my body, I read it again and again and I knew- yes, these are the words that I have been waiting for all my life.

Years have passed and now it seems that this quote has been living a life of its own within me.

Not only do I find myself freely falling into my own feelings, emotions, hardships, and sorrows, but also I find much has started to fall away from within me and from my life. Nothing is planned, but everything seems to be fluid. I seem to need less and less and the surplus just slides down my sides and disappears as if I was on a strange type of a diet.

Today I went for the ultimate free-fall. Something that I have wanted to do for a long time- a bungee jump.
Standing high up, blood rushing, I knew this was the perfect moment to live the truth- let it go. Let go of everything. All your fears, all the tomorrows and yesterdays, yourself, the ground, the all. Nothing remains but the moment. The moment alone half way up in the sky. All you can do is raise your arms in surrender and let go. It was the most beautiful moment in my life. I have never felt a feeling of pure, undiluted freedom, like I did in those moments.

We do not have to wait for experiences of extreme sport to fall freely and turn our hell into a heaven. We can do it every single moment, in every single Now. Let it all go. Life, death, yourself. And heaven will be there within you.

Truth as a mystery

Tao mystics never talk about God, reincarnation, heaven, hell. No, they don't talk about these things. These are all creations of human mind: explanations for something which can never be explained, explanations for the mystery. In fact, all explanations are against God because explanation de-mystifies existence. Existence is a mystery, and one should accept it as a mystery and not pretend to have any explanation. No, explanation is not needed – only exclamation, a wondering heart, awakened, surprised, feeling the mystery of life each moment. Then, and only then, you know what truth is. And truth liberates.

    Osho ~ "Never Born, Never Died" (2002)