We have developed a society where the consciousness of individuality is prevalent.
We can only perceive separation from “me.”

As every individual realizes that to “play” in this world in a “smart fashion” is about making sure that “I” get things/privileges/ options/ positions/money/Paradise before “you” then, a “sharp” individual will make sure to get the “job done.”

This implies the “art” of convincing others that “I” am in the right path, that “I” am arriving someplace and at the same time, convincing myself that “I am happy.” 🙂

If we cannot achieve some goal that we have in mind, then there is a “guru” available for us who can show us how to get there… We have self-help books, we have “coaches,” we have subscriptions to the “top minds in business,” and of course, we have religions as well if our goal is beyond this “materialistic degraded world.”

Someone could…

When we have the consciousness of being separated from everything else as “individuals” only, then many things appear in a certain way to our understanding and consciousness.

For instance, the belief in “free will” is the support of that individuality. “I do things because I want.”
“God has given me free will.” “I get punished if I do not follow God’s rules,” etc.

Those beliefs are deep in our “normal” psyche.

Here is “I,” here is “God,” and there is “you” and everyone else. Separation.

Predestination is viewed as the denial of that individuality. In other words, “I am a puppet of destiny” rather than the “master of my own destiny.”

See the difference in both beliefs?

Why is that consciousness of individuality ingrained in us, if we could see that there is truly interdependence on everything that exists?

There cannot be a tree just by itself. A tree is…

A friend told me that she attended a retreat of a known “guru” and this guru explained that “Everything was predestined.” That was a major shock to some. My friend told me that one person was crying in disbelief.
Even though this explanation was only a mental idea, it was enough to trigger an emotional reaction. That explains our level of engagement with our minds and our need to find theoretical “truth” even though it may differ our own experience.
The “problem” of free will vs. predestination is a popular topic among thinkers and even regular folks. Movies are introducing this topic to the masses who strongly believed that they had “free will.”

Why is it that we cannot figure it out ourselves?
Mostly because we are stuck in a certain level of consciousness, the “I” who is separated from everything else. In separation we are unsure if destiny plays…

Intuitive Astrology: February Super Full Moon 2019

by Tanaaz

Mental Preparation for 2019

from a talk given in Tahiti, 29 December 2018

There are two perspectives on time.  One is the commonly known time of yesterday, today and tomorrow.  In Hindi the same word is used for yesterday and for tomorrow.  It is the same word for death also: Kāl.  For death we also say someone’s time has come.  The Tahitian word is tau, and this word refers to far distant time in both the future and the past.  This expresses the sense of time as a whole cycle where the future and the past meet and become one.

Time is a rotating phenomenon and in spiritual practice we rotate the cycle of time in the mind.  Life occurs in cycles.  Regular human experience is lived through the annual cycle of the seasons, religious and cultural festivals.  The diurnal 24 hour cycle is said to be the foundation…

Talk for BK IT Professionals at Om Shanti Retreat Centre, Gurgaon, Delhi, 9 February, 2019

Is there a sleeping angel inside you?  Our subject today is Awakening the Angel Within.  So there must be a sleeping angel inside.  Is there a sleeping angel, or a sleeping devil?  You are working with information technology and artificial intelligence.  Artificial intelligence provides an extra dimension.  Have you all seen Steven Spielberg’s film Ready Player One?  It is a film about virtual reality – a reality that is not really there.  The players are not interested in the reality that is there, so they hardly participate in it.  They participate in another reality with other identities.  How many identities do you have?  Do you know all your births?  You can calculate them by looking at your present sanskaras.  You have enough information to calculate electronically what your births probably were by putting your…

Points to Ponder: February 4, 2019