Straw Tuesday #35 REFLECTION 1. an instance of reflecting; especially the return of light or sound waves from a surface 2. the production of an image by or as if by a mirror 3. the action of bending or folding back 4. something produced by reflecting: as a) an image given back by a reflecting surface b) an effect produced by an influence 5. an often obscure or indirect criticism/reproach 6. a thought, idea, or opinion formed or a remark made as a result of meditation 7. consideration of some subject matter, idea, or purpose We are now into the first week of another year. Some advice from momma Straw is to use the power of Reflection to create a safer and saner view of life, we found this post on Happy Science that aligns very well with this path... *(regardless of your own individual spiritual or religious connection) THE POWER OF SELF-REFLECTION: We all make mistakes whilst living as human beings as we have been blessed with the freedom to do so. While many things in this world cannot be undone, what is in our mind can be washed away, as our mind encompasses past, present and future. If we reflect on our past with a pure heart, we will be able to wipe out all the records that have been written as losses in the Thought Tape or Thought Belt. This is a great power with which we have been endowed. Through self-reflection we can learn from our mistakes, release attachments, increase our enlightenment and allow our divine nature to shine brilliantly once again. Another aspect of self-reflection is to reach a state of mind that is calm and relaxed, thus, allowing us to communicate with our HIGHER SELF and receive TRUSTED inspiration. Heaven and hell exist within our minds and the focus of our thoughts can lead us to either place. Self-reflection is a way to fine-tune our mind like a compass needle to point towards and connect to the heavenly world. PRACTICING SELF-REFLECTION (some tips) 1. Make self-reflection your daily or a regular habit. 2. Find a quiet, clean and uncluttered place where you can use a comfortable chair or cushion on the floor, have a notebook by your side and play calm and serene meditation music in the background if you like. 3. Try some simple exercise on your neck, back, arms and legs to release any negativity and to allow energy to flow again. 4. Sit on a comfortable chair or on a cushion on the floor. The key is to be relaxed and to keep your back straight. 5. When you are ready, start deep breathing. Breathe in deeply through your nose into the lower stomach, hold for a few seconds and then breathe out slowly through your mouth. Continue this deep breathing for about 2 minutes in slow rhythmical cycles until you enter into a deeper state of mind. 6. Then return to regular breathing and begin reflecting on your day using the Noble Eightfold Path as a guideline. THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR MODERN LIFE The Nobel Eightfold Path was conceived by Shakyamuni Buddha who lived 2500 years ago, it has not lost any of its significance, even in the 21st century. On the contrary, people, living in a modern society would benefit greatly from integrating this noble path into their daily lives. The Noble Eightfold Path is the method that leads to enlightenment in spiritual terms, and helps people to discover peace and happiness while living in this world. It is a guideline to discover what is right and what is wrong; what is real and what is false; what is good and what is evil. The Noble Eightfold Path, consisting of Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration, is the most explicit guide for self-reflection. RIGHT VIEW Means believing in the law of cause and effect. It is important to check if we see ourselves, others and the world in the right way; can we view events from other peoples’ viewpoints, or even from a higher perspective from heaven. Right View helps us to gain a fair perspective on what happened during the day or on every incident that occurred around us. RIGHT THOUGHT Means to reflect on the constant waves of thoughts that enter our mind and to remove our attachments that stick to it. It is important to examine our thoughts as if they were in a transparent glass box and to check if we would be embarrassed if those thoughts were revealed to others. Our thoughts reflect the purity of our soul and determine who we are. RIGHT SPEECH Means to reflect on the words we used throughout the day. Right speech means to avoid false speech, abusive words, flattery and deceit. Right speech also means using wisdom and courage to criticize when something needs to be criticized, as well as positive encouragement, which is necessary to create an ideal society RIGHT ACTION Means behaving in the right way and avoiding whatever is shameful as a human being. In the context of modern life, Right Action also can be interpreted as right work. Our work provides us infinite possibilities to practice spiritually nurturing love and raise the level of our enlightenment. Self-reflection on Right Action means to check if we exerted ourselves fully and worked with all our heart and soul. RIGHT LIVELIHOOD Means to lead a decent, honest and moral life. In the context of a modern life, Right Livelihood would also involve the effective use of given time. When reflecting on our daily lives it is important to ask ourselves wether we are able to live one day in such a way that it is worth an entire lifetime. Right Living can be attained by integrating three actions: mental – for Right Thought; verbal – for Right Speech and physical – for Right Action. By improving our thoughts, words and conduct, we can attain this well-balanced way of life. RIGHT EFFORT Means making efforts to advance higher, step by step, towards the direction of higher being. Whilst living a well-balanced life, it encourages us to advance towards enlightenment. Right Effort means to correct our tendency to be lazy, improve ourselves, deepen our knowledge of the Truth and make every effort to spread it. RIGHT MINDFULNESS Indicates the direction of a strong will that is projected far into the future. It marks an advanced level of spiritual discipline and involves visualization, meditation and prayer. Right Mindfulness is a way for us, living on earth, to come closer to God, allowing us to transcend this three-dimensional world while at the same time belonging to it. RIGHT CONCENTRATION Means going through all the steps of the Noble Eightfold Path and entering a deep meditative state. It is a meditation through which we can experience true liberation of the soul while still living in this world. Through this experience we can become free from the restrictions of our physical bodies and the restrictions of this material world, and find our true self - a being belonging to higher dimensions of the Spirit World and the Heavens. This state brings us great wisdom, freedom and bliss, and is one of the final objectives of self-reflection. It is a state of true happiness. ### (see full article on Happy Science, The Principle of Self-Reflection) Something to think about and consider. Reflection is a powerful tool we can use to help ourselves be better beings. No matter what religion or spirituality you ascribe to, by becoming honest and skilled at reflection you/we will move to a higher place in perspective, wisdom, compassion and understanding. Which then makes difficult or challenging times less arduous. Have a good week. Love, Straw #StrawTuesday
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 18:37:38 +0000
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