Wonderings & Wanderings of the Soul

<a href="http://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/index.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2945" src="https://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/index.jpg" alt="index" width="259" height="194"></a>Snow is falling and the world outside my window has been silenced at least long enough for me to contemplate with wonder and humility the magnificence of this beautiful earth, the serenity it offers and the beauty and peace that lies within. Each snowflake perfectly formed – concurrently encapsulation beauty and peace within itself. If only we could stop time’s advance and freeze frame this scene! If this was possible, might we be able to hold onto the tranquility that lies within, to reacquaint with it, to savor it and to formulate and execute a plan for holding onto it long past snowfall’s end. Billions of snowflakes, each as unique as the billions who populate this beautiful oasis we call Earth. It is really quite amazing when you stop to think about it, [...]

The movie Sliding Doors is a must see whether you are looking for holiday entertainment or getting ready for winter hibernation. And while you are tucked in, kicking backing and sipping your hot chocolate you will be entertained as well as provoked to look at the turning points in your own life in a new way. The plot centers around the main character Helen, an executive with a London based public relations firm. Both her love life and career hinge on whether she catches the subway on her way home after being fired. A romantic comedy-drama, it is clear that this is no ordinary tale about life’s ups and downs, its twist and turns. The story alternates between two parallel universes based on divergent paths Helen’s life could take. In the one scenario she catches her train and in the parallel [...]

<a href="http://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/5-newmethodfor.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-2938" src="https://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/5-newmethodfor-300x297.jpg" alt="5-newmethodfor" width="300" height="297"></a>Celebrate this season of light by recognizing and reveling in the LIGHT within. Millions of people around the world have begun the annual celebration of Christmas – the gift of Christ Consciousness; while others commemorate the Winter Solstice, Chanukah or the presence of Buddha or Krishna Consciousness. It is a time for deep reflection and joy regardless of which banner one pauses to celebrate under. Over the centuries, traditions have come and gone merged and morphed. What remains constant is the gift each of us has received regardless of our religious or philosophical orientation. Each of us is a child of God, our existence made possible through the vast power, creativity and love that is the Source of All That Is. Each of us is on an eternal journey through the vastness of [...]

<div class="irc_mutc"></div> <div class="irc_mutc"><a href="http://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/gratitude3.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-2920" src="https://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/gratitude3-150x150.jpg" alt="gratitude3" width="150" height="150"></a></div> <div class="irc_mutc">We are on the verge of gathering for our Thanksgiving celebration -- a time when most in our culture press the PAUSE button to gather to acknowledge the many blessings that we enjoy and to express our gratitude.</div> <div class="irc_mutc">Some have traveled to join family and friends while those separated by great distances will connect through their hearts as we pause to celebrate the bounty that fills our lives. Most who are hosting the annual feast have finished the long preparation. What remains is the quiet time to prepare one's list of gratitude.</div> <div class="irc_mutc">My list of things to be grateful for remains virtually unchanged from year to year.</div> <div class="irc_mutc">To the SOURCE of all that is, I offer thanks for the breadth of life, my senses and [...]

<a href="http://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sufi-image.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2885" src="https://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sufi-image.jpg" alt="Source of the Realization" width="262" height="193"></a> &nbsp; Two great Sufi leaders and teachers inspire us to break through the grand illusion of duality to discover the truth of our existence and the source of the realization. <p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>“The source of the realization of truth is within man; he himself is the object of his realization”. </strong>Hazrat Inayat Khan</em></p> The elaboration on this essential truth is offered by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan, Hazrat’s cousin and fellow leader of the Sufi movement to help us shatter the illusion. <p style="padding-left: 30px;">“Men have differed in all ages because they have called their Deity by different names. There have existed wars, fights and family feuds for ages, men dividing themselves merely for the difference of the names they gave to their Deity. Man always sees just what he sees; [...]

<a href="http://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sufi-image.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2885" src="https://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sufi-image.jpg" alt="Source of the Realization" width="262" height="193"></a> &nbsp; Two great Sufi leaders and teachers inspire us to break through the grand illusion of duality to discover the truth of our existence and the source of the realization. <p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>“The source of the realization of truth is within man; he himself is the object of his realization”. </strong>Hazrat Inayat Khan</em></p> The elaboration on this essential truth is offered by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan, Hazrat’s cousin and fellow leader of the Sufi movement to help us shatter the illusion. <p style="padding-left: 30px;">“Men have differed in all ages because they have called their Deity by different names. There have existed wars, fights and family feuds for ages, men dividing themselves merely for the difference of the names they gave to their Deity. Man always sees just what he sees; [...]

I  admit, my last blog post - Cosmic Motion Picture -- calls out for amplification, so consider this Cosmic Motion Picture part two. Easier said than done, you've scoffed! How can I possibly detach from my life you have wondered? Believe me when I say that I am quite familiar with the wide range of disparate reactions to the idea that we are just illusory figures playing parts in a massive cosmic illusion. The philosopher within quietly concurs with the great sage and guru Paramahansa Yogananda who continues to counsel from the far edges of eternity -- encouraging us to shift our level of awareness and extolling the benefits to successful detachment -- peace . . bliss. The spiritual aspirant within understands that detachment from the ups and downs of daily life and its triumphs and disappointments is the only route [...]

Paramahansa Yogananda’s prayer Make Me See That I Am But An Actor In Thy Cosmic Motion Picture is a source of great inspiration and comfort. His wisdom provokes one to contemplate the play of life - lila - from the observer perspective. This detachment, while difficult to achieve, is key to achieving peace and serenity in one's day-to-day life as well as a milepost on the journey to immersion with the Source Creator and the bliss that is its rewards. “Beholding the ever-changing sound-and-motion pictures of life, I am aware that this turbulent dancing show is only a vast illusion. The tragedies, comedies, and paradoxes of life; the dreams of birth and death; the changing scenes ad places that surge round us: all these are nothing but movies, designed to engage us in the Cosmic Illusion. O Divine Operator, with Thy [...]

Patience is too often in short supply!!  I have to admit that this is a virtue which I don’t have an abundance of and on a bad day I never seem to have enough. Perhaps you too have been feeling that the number of situations that demand patience of you seem to be on the increase. A typical day seems to present numerous occasions that call upon one’s patience – telephone calls to arrange service which land one in ‘call center hell’, the clock ticking as you wait patiently in hopes of speaking to a human being before the phone/computer cuts you off. Worse yet when you do get cut off and have to repeat your entire litany again before you are inevitably told “now hold on while I transfer you to the person who can help you with that”!!! And [...]

Let’s be honest, holding on through dark and troubled times can be incredibly difficult. The last time I felt besieged by the weight of life and its predictable disappointments, positive thoughts floated off like clouds on the distant horizon – recognizable but beyond reach. Each time I got close to holding on to one, it slipped out of my grasp. Comfort beyond my reach and so I wallowed in sadness fighting off despair; both incredibly heavy burdens compounding the original malaise. And then, as if the weight I was trying to lift off my heart wasn’t heavy enough – guilt set in like the early morning fog; guilt because I was allowing myself both the time and the room for self-pity, guilt because I was wallowing. In a recent bout of melancholy in what one might call a flash of grandiosity, [...]