Sadhan on sunsets

 

Contd....

Sadhan on sunsets

What happened?

The whole of this – mostly in Hyderabad (of India) it was either cloudy or raining. So, it was not possible to do this exercise literally!

Some didn’t even go out at the appointed time thinking ‘oh, it’s cloudy so its waste of going’.

Some cursed their fate for not being able to do it because of rain. Some of them even thought it was ‘bad sign’?!

Few got angry at me for choosing this week while it was raining for this exercise.

Some cursed God for letting it rain when they had to follow their Guru’s orders!

Few went to terrace come what may, were present through the time of sunset. They watched the clouds, birds and listened to all noises around them. They even got wet in the rain. For them, they had to be there for sunset. If they can’t see it’s not their problem. They followed their Guru’s words and they celebrated there after! They came out of this week thankful and joyous. They thanked me, God and Nature for this lovely experience. They didn’t get stuck at the point “..but we didn’t see Sunset maam…” They didn’t invest their attention, awareness and energies in something that didn’t happen. They only invested in what they received, how they experienced that and how they felt about it!

Returns from this exercise :

Few among you must be waiting to hear that you’ll receive ‘X’ by way of healing as returns or benefit of this healing. That is not the returns of this exercise.

Contd....

# sunsets and sunrises, on little joys of life, miracles of life, wow moments, everything happens for good, abundance, life as it is, awareness, mindfulness, being available to the miracles of life, happiness, state of mind, 

also read previous post : https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/search?q=applications+of+il+dolce+far+niente 

Look at images in every post - they too give out messages and answers. I am to write and address everyone's questions and emotions. Can't do one way so to some your answers are in images and to others in pointers and to some in the link....some find it in post......everyone's query, situation is addressed in a single post/article. Be open to receiving your answer once you have asked for an answer. It is found in some form - search for it and get it! Itna tho kaam karo yaar......

Pointers in this post :

"Few went to terrace come .....and how they felt about it!" - Life offers us vada pav (Indian bread delicacy worth dying for!) when we are waiting for sandwich. Grab it! Yes, sometimes - maybe with blessed few most of the times, life gives something totally different from what we are looking out for or working or dreaming about. Don't miss out on this bonus 'gift' that we received from Universe. Just be open to it. How can we 'label' SURPRISE GIFTS as unwanted or 'what I was not looking for ?' - surprise gift - whatever it is, is beautiful. Open your eyes to it. Once we learn the art of seeing beauty of 'surprises' thrown at us by the Universe, we'll start enjoying the 'fun game' that Universe engages in with each one of us. Life is a gift, open it - we'll understand then. 

Let's stop conditioning everything in life. When someone brings 'pineapple cake' don't end up saying ' but I like chocolate cake. It is gift. Appreciate the thought. Thank for the concern. Look at the effort of that person. Instead we end up putting all that in trash by saying 'but he spoiled my perfect idea of birthday by bringing in chocolate cake'. Listen to yourself! Life is giving in abundance don't throw it away with such tantrums and then say 'but why no miracle happens in my life maam?'

Applications of Il Dolce far Niente!

….contd…..

We don’t know if we understood IDFN explained to us correctly but we learned these beautiful truths while trying to apply IDFN.

We feel enriched with these insights and experiences and we thank-you Guruji for these experiences. Please tell us if we have missed any points”

Today, all through our talks and discussions she was just looking at us, one after the other with a smile which didn’t part her lips but reached her eyes. When I posed her the question, she just smiled, nodded her head and left us.

We didn’t know what to make of her stance. Was she happy? Were we right? Or were we totally off-course? Did we miss the main point that she was trying to tell us? We wouldn’t know. But yet…………we were happy with this exercise. It enriched us in so many ways and also gave us a ‘way of living’ which seemed ‘livable’ and ‘applicable to every day living’. Moreover, happiness seemed so at reach. Wow! It was good feeling and all vetoed on this feeling. We left her place satisfied, happy, rich and fuller today. It was as if we crossed a very special mile-stone today! Kudos to us and to all such reasons that postponed our sharing of experiences all these days! Now all we had to do was put this ‘know-how’ to good use………….can’t wait!

....concluded....

Applications of Il Dolce far Niente!

…..contd…..

Moreover, we didn’t get to understanding the tangible benefit of this ‘tough and boring act’ and so put it aside. Neha’s talk threw light on its possibility and a chance to experience something surreal. But was it enough to tempt us to act on this thought! I doubted it though I wished we give it a try!

Many others gave expression to their experiences and I summed up everybody’s experience at the end.

“From all that we shared and discussed, few point shave become very evident. IDFN is by itself good but its benefits are so vast and varied. To benefit those goodies we need to follow simple rules as –

·         Every day-to-day act, be it walking, eating, playing etc should be done with ‘mindfulness’.

·         Its time we stop multitasking and put all our efforts in the work at hand 

·         Slow down a bit to relish the ‘moment’ of life. Afterall, life is lived in moments.

·         All these years we had been giving importance to the ‘activity at hand’. Its time we look and see ‘how we are doing’ instead of ‘what we are doing’.

·         We have been giving importance to ‘doing’. Its time we shift to ‘being’ instead of ‘doing’.

·         Our worthiness has been always been based on ‘what we were doing’, when in actuality it is ‘what we are’ or ‘how I experience a moment’.

·         We are so ‘market-oriented’ that we price every act based on its value, its ‘return-on-investment value’. Instead we should realize that acts that don’t have any value are also very valuable nay infact priceless many times. Some examples are –

-          Watching sunset

-          Listening to the roar of waves

-          Listening to your favourite song oblivious to your surroundings

-          Dancing or getting drenched in rain

-          Reading a novel (even keeping aside house-hold chores)

Afterall, life is ‘lived in these precious moments’ not in the ‘to-do-today-list’.

...contd.....

Applications of Il Dolce far Niente!

….contd……

“I had practiced IDFN in my tea-drinking act” started Neha “I just love tea and so thought it right act to practice it. For first few days, I drank tea as usual. Nothing happened. After weeks of ‘mindful practice’ I realized on day that I was relishing tea with every cell of my body and through every pore of my being. I can’t explain that state but it felt wonderful. It was as if I didn’t exist. And yet I had never felt more alive than this – ever! I was not there and yet was there in my totality. Weird paradox! I can’t explain how’s and why’s of that

experience but can tell one thing for sure – that I experienced that because of repeated practice. Yes, I now understand the actual need to practice something repeatedly. Initially, in most cases it is to learn it to perfection but later it is to lose ourselves in that act. Yes. Be it hands-on, meditation, dance, singing etc the purpose ultimately to lose ourselves in losing ourselves to gain ourselves completely. Incidentally this also applies to mundane routine acts of cooking, cleaning, driving, bathing etc. So, I started doing everything ‘mindfully’ as much as possible. I didn’t get that experience again but I know I need to keep working on myself to get there!

Trust me practice ‘mindfulness’ in every act – be it as simple as talking over phone, walking, cooking, eating or anything. Explore this possibility to unleash the treasure-trove of experiences and understanding” she sat down a bit emotional.

Most of us didn’t get what she was trying to tell but yes understood one thing, that she wanted us to be ‘mindful’ through all our actions. Our Guruji had talked about this so many times and pushed us in so many ways to practice it but we being we, found it really boring.

...contd.....

Applications of Il Dolce Far niente!

…..contd…..

Murali smiled and nodded his head “Thank-you. You’ve all explained it and understood it the way I wanted to put it. So I think I don’t need to explain further.

Just would like to add that I have made little changes in my life and the way I am living now. I am talking things slow. I have cut out on my social-site engagements and time. I am more in real life than in virtual world. I observe and relish my surrounding and little nothings of my life. I’ve realized that every moment is a moment of miracle if seen and understood correctly. My gratitude scale has gone up and yes, I am happier, relaxed and peaceful. I am not trying to ‘be on the run’ anymore. I think I have made my point and looking forward to seeing more smiling faces, grateful eyes and hands rose to sky and fulfilled hearts dancing with joy in coming days’.

We nodded our heads. Yes, it was so clear, simply obvious that we couldn’t find excuses to overlook these facts of our life. We need to do corrective measures before it’s too late. And yes, for once we didn’t need lots of plodding in this area. It was our understanding today. We held on to it clearly in our heads and hearts. And our “sure, sure” reiterated our promise to him regarding our resolve to work on the same.

Were we glad when someone suggested that we go for tea-break?

We needed it very badly. We formed groups and sub-groups to discuss and exchange our ideas on what we understood. I found it amusing to note how the groups formed effortlessly. Tea served and relished left us ever so fresh and eager enough to march ahead on this topic.

...contd....