Exercise your choice to build confidence

We make choices every day. The ability to choose is one of the faculties that a human being has, perhaps more than other forms of life. We can use our intellect to choose. As we use our intellect more and more to make choices that benefit us, we strengthen our intellect and our confidence in our intellect. The intellect enables us to make wise choices that benefit us in the short term as well as the long term. It is important to use the intellect to make wise choices. It is also important to execute on those choices and stick to them in the present. But it is also important to take feedback from the world to be grounded with reality and refine one's choices as needed. The following steps are involved in making choices and implementing them: 1) Use your awareness to choose to use your intellect rather than your conditioned mind to make your choices 2) Use your awareness to select the right inputs based on internal priorities as well external factors (such as the time, place, situation, other people involved) to provide to your intellect 3 Use your intellect, reasoning, and discrimination to provide appropriate importance to the internal factors and the external factors, and taking all the factors and attributed importance into consideration, make the right choice for you in the present. 4) Once the choice is made, stick to it and execute to it your best in the present 5) Revisit the choice, but only when the external factors change substantially 6) Observe the effect of the choice in reality, and gather feedback from the external world 7) If the feedback suggests growth and expansion, stick to the choice 8) If the feedback is negative...relook at the factors and attributed importance and recompute the choice 9) If feedback is consistently negative irrespective of the alterations in factors and attributed importance, alter the internal priorities 10) Reiterate, repeat and refine A life that is lived by choice and not by default is a life of constant growth and expansion. A life that is lived without choice or by default is a life of stagnation and decay. In making the right choice, awareness is important to overrule the conditioned mind and apply the intellect. The conditioned mind is like a default option of 'autopilot' that makes some approximations based on the past, and takes decisions without considering all the factors. The conditioned mind is judgemental, and it takes decisions based on false priorities, false assumptions, and false impressions. The conditioned mind attaches value or importance to past choices made by it, and gives a higher importance to assumptions and judgements made by it in the past over external factors and internal priorities. The conditioned mind also identifies with or attaches to the choices it makes, so it is less responsive to feedback from reality. It tries to defend and justify its choices, even if the choices were made based on incorrect assumptions or inaccurate information. The conditioned mind is 'closed' and limited. The intellect is open and flexible. It does not get ''affected' by past choices and it looks at each computation independent of past computations. The intellect is detached from identification with the choice (it is neutral), but it too has some limitations based on the priorities and assumptions that are provided to it. Hence awareness is important to know oneself, one's values, one's goals and objectives, and to determine one's internal priorities.

Journeys and destinations in spirituality

We hear that spirituality is about 'living in the present'. Many masters have emphasized about the importance of 'NOW.' Yes indeed, the 'NOW' is important, but is spirituality so simple that merely living in the 'now' is sufficient? Can we let go of everything else and simply live in the present? As we are living, we are only dealing with the present. Indeed, the only time that we really have is the present. However, we are also coming to terms with the past, and also creating our future through our present. We cannot deny that the past has an impact on most us (it has made us who we are today) and neither can one say that one is not at all concerned about the future. If technically one is not at all concerned about the future, then one would make decisions that lead to immediate gratification even if it would mean jeopardizing one's future. For example, a student can decide to not study and do whatever they find most interesting or rewarding in the present (e.g., talking to a friend, facebook, TV etc). A person who is in a committed relationship can get involved with another person temporarily in the 'moment', and end up destroying their relationship. A depressed person can commit suicide, because that seems to be the only solution in the present. Is that the same as 'living in the present'? Are we just kidding ourselves by doing all sorts of unproductive and meaningless things in the name of 'living in the present'? Spirituality is a journey and a path, because life itself is a journey and spirituality is a continuous journey as long as we are alive. Learning never ends. As we interact with other beings (who are also spiritual beings), our spirituality expands and grows. However spirituality is also a destination, because there are some significant milestones along this journey, such as: 1) A curiosity for knowledge and an urge to question and seek 2) A strong burning single desire for the one truth..which takes over everything else and all other desires 3) An commitment to truth and an association with those who are committed to truth (Satsang) 4) Finding a Guru, mentor, or guide and building a committed relationship with that person 5) Having an experience that suggests to us that we are more than just body. 6) Experiencing a glimpse of true and unconditional acceptance and love..by giving as well as receiving 7) An experience of universal consciousness or cosmic consciousness..merging with nature 8) Coming to terms with our mystical experiences through the intellect with objectivity to dissociate the learning or the awareness during that experience from the experience per se (losing attachment to the experience) 9) Consciously integrating and harmonizing our mind, body, and intellect with the higher self or awareness 10) Realizing and being firmly established in one's true identity in mind, body, intellect, as well as awareness..through our actions, thoughts, and words 11) Using this great knowledge that comes from spiritual experience for the benefit of the world and leading by example 12) Continuing to realize and express that identity and grow that identity to include other beings and enabling them to also experience that identity in themselves These are some of the milestones but there could be many others. Some of these milestones are not necessary and they vary from person to person and their order can also vary. These milestones may act as signposts to tell is that we are on the right path. At various stages depending on our own strengths and weaknesses, we may have to work on the level of body, mind, intellect, or awareness. Until all are harmonized, there will be internal conflict and one will not able to function at an optimum level. One of the goals of spirituality is inner transformation, where we feel a deep connection with ourselves as well as other beings. We should be able to maintain this connection with equanimity and balance in daily life even amidst difficult and trying circumstances. Such inner transformation is a strong foundation for humanity or being a better human being. One can pretend to be a better human being by donating to charity, feeding the hungry, getting a fuel efficient or electric car, eating organic food etc, but these are just at an external level. Spirituality makes us strong enough to sustain love and compassion even amidst the most trying of circumstances and enables us to fulfill our purpose to make the world a better place, one person at a time, starting with our selves.