From Giving to Serving

When do we feel that we are giving? When we do something for someone or something. Do you feel like that when you do something for yourself? For e.g. You are hungry, and make or get some food for yourself; wash your own dishes; buy yourself a pair of nice shoes; make your own bed. Does that thought come to you that you are doing something for yourself?

No. What happens when you do the same things for someone else? You get the feeling you have done something for that person. There is a sense of doership. What does this lead to? It gives you joy or feeds the ego, pride, arrogance. It creates an expectation in your mind from that person. You want them to appreciate your act, and would want them to help you when you are in need. What happens if that person forgets your act of kindness, does not help you when you go to him? You feel hurt, angry, self-pity, depressed - "How could he forget what I did for him...huh","He doesn't realize and appreciate how much I do for him"; "Kids have forgotten how much we sacrificed for them" and on and on.

Why is the act of doing anything for ourself different from doing it for someone else? Because there is a sense of separation between you and the other person. If you would do the same thing for your child, you may not feel the doership. If you do the same thing for your spouse, parents then a little bit sense of doership, if you do it for a dear friend, then a little bit, if you do it for neighbor or colleague, then a little more, if you do it for a stranger then a lot more.

The truth is every act of giving to someone else, is giving ourself. We give ourself joy or we give our self pride, ego, arrogance which leads to expectations, sadness, anger, self-pity, depression.

When do we we feel we are sacrificing? When we give up something we love. When we give up something that is more dear to us, than the person or reason we are giving up for. You may think you are giving up your values, but it's actually the ego that is being challenged in the process. God, our values, love, all this is truth. Truth is universal and omnipresent and can never be given up.

The less the sense of belongingness, the more the sense of doership. When you think everyone and everything is yours, then the sense of doership drops, and you act from your very nature...

The Sun never complains it has to go around every day, the moon never makes us realize it's lightening up the darkness, the air we breathe doesn't even seem to exist, the trees silently remove the poison that we breathe out, the river keeps flowing incessantly. Everything in its nature, just continues to serve.

We give our 100% and do what is needed, what we can do in our capacity; have no attachments to the result and not form any judgements or opinions about the result. Then we are not giving. We are serving. And to be able to serve is a true Gift.

How to increase belongingness, strengthen our inner Self, increase our capacity to serve more, and drop the sense of doership? By connecting with our inner Self, tapping the unbounded source of joy and enthusiasm and acting from that space. Only Meditation can connect you with your Self.

The Art of Meditation course, can help you go deep into meditation effortlessly. 

Meditation - A journey from me to my Self

Everyone needs some meditation

Who doesn't want good health and no sickness?
Who doesn't want beauty inside out?
Who doesn't want pleasures and no pain?
Who doesn't want love and no longing?
Who doesn't want happiness and no misery?
Who doesn't want peace of mind and no stress?
Who doesn't want rest and no restlessness?
Who doesn't want enthusiasm and no boredom?

Who doesn't want never-ending Joy and un-distorted Love?
Who wants the party to end?

Life is such, a sinusoidal wave of duality, of opposites.

Day and Night, Sun and Moon, Summer and Winter, Spring and Fall, Water and Ice, Music and Noise, Man and Woman, Love and Longing, Pleasure and Pain, Highs and Lows, Crests and Troughs, Crowds and Solace, Life and Death
.....

Each one complements it's opposite. It's these opposites that make Life full of life, exciting, surprising, adventurous, worth exploring, worth living. And they co-exist, but usually we only see and perceive one at a time.

When the sinusoidal wave of opposites cease to exist, and become a flat line, that's symbol of death, stagnant, decay. But we don't want to wait for death to end this sinusoid. We want to be the infinite unwavering center amidst the sinusoid.

How do we rise above the opposites to watch these opposites as they happen and remain unaffected by them?

Alcohol, drugs? Sure they take you to a high, subdue your lows, loosen you up, your confidence gets a boost, you have fun (without awareness, without consciousness). What happens when it wears down? Does the Joy last or it also wears down? Does the joy from it have a lasting effect (positive) through the rest of your day? Does it leave you fresh and recharged? Does anything change within you? And still somehow most consider it as a logically reasoned out fact, or must I say 'faith', that it's THE way to have fun, a medicine to relieve pain.

Meditate?

Meditation is not about experiencing lights, flying birds, blue skies, beautiful mountains, sun sets, music (although all this may happen). Most people associate meditation with Buddhism or a religious, cultish practice. All religions have a way to meditate. And why do you want to associate it with a religion, and give it yet another form, concept? We are so quick and open-minded when it comes to trying out new activities, cuisines, clubs, bars, beers, etc? Think of meditation as a technique to reduce stress, clear the mind, increase productivity, peace, enthusiasm, energy.

Meditation is the art of doing nothing that effortlessly leads one to a state of nothingness. That's why many people leave it when they try it for the first few times, because of the gazillion thoughts that come up in the mind.
Hello?? These thoughts have always been there. They are always coming every second. It's only in meditation that you are actually taking time to observe them, as thoughts, and realize that they are simply thoughts, transient thoughts, that we usually mistake for as ourselves and others. We are not our transient thoughts, emotions, feelings, opinions.

But if you keenly observe, there is a space between thoughts, even though it's infinitesimally small. That space is peace.

With proper meditation techniques and practice, one learns how to increase that space between thoughts. Can you learn to play the guitar in one day? Can you learn driving in one day? Can you write a software in one day? Even Rome was not built in a day! Just like that you can't have that long space, peace, nothingness, in one day.

Meditation makes you travel through your thoughts, memories from the past, thoughts about future, judgements, opinions, experiences to silence......If you have experienced meditation, you know that you don't realize where time flew by. Meditation takes you from times (past, present, future) to timelessness.
And when you come out of it, there is a sense of peace, love, joy. Because you just experienced your true Self - infinite and timeless Joy, Love, Peace!

Meditation is a journey from the head to the heart; from chaos to silence; from time to timelessness.

Meditation is a journey from me to my Self.

Sounds too good to be true? (Having a Doubt? Realize that Doubt is also just yet another thought). Want to remove your Doubt (now there is war going on between you and your ego). But once you have become aware that it's just a doubt, and are ready to go past your ego, to resolve your doubt, try the Art of Meditation.