• by Valerie Joy King •
Recently I got the subject of “Practicing Contentment” as the topic I was to cover during my meditation talk. It caused me to contemplate deeply: What is contentment? How should we practice it? and why would you want to practice contentment?
Contentment has me thinking of a big mama cow sitting in the middle of a lush, green field chewing her cud with not a care in the world. Or it’s a baby who’s just finished nursing and they’re sleeping, with that blissful little smile on their face—utterly content. But as we grow older, contentment begins to have deeper meaning.
Contentment is a translation of a Sanskrit word “santosha,” and it may not have exactly the same meaning. Santosha comes from two different words: “sam,” meaning absolute, and “tosha,” meaning acceptance. To me this doesn’t mean absolute acceptance of some outer circumstance; it’s absolute contentment and peace within you. People may think of contentment as a sort of apathy, or “Oh, whatever. I’m not going to do anything.” But that’s not the spiritual meaning of it.
Meditating on it, I realized that if I see something in the outer world—a circumstance, relationship or something that needs work—I don’t just leave it be. It means I find and connect with that place inside of true peace and then deal with it in a way that is going to be helpful, and really move that situation forward and improve it.
A chance to practice came during a recent council meeting at a nearby city, where some people were very angry and upset, while misunderstanding a current situation. In the midst of the complaining and negative comments, I realized I had to practice gratitude, compassion, and connect with the bliss consciousness deep inside my spirit. Then I could listen to others and be able to see the good that these people were trying to do, even if it was misguided.
The city mayor wanted a positive outcome, and was looking at both sides. He happened to be a man, probably about 70, with white hair and beard. He was so kind and compassionate, I thought he appeared like Santa Claus. And what happened because of his energy was that everyone felt pretty good at the end, even though they didn’t get what they wanted. That was a really nice experience of understanding what contentment means—not that we simply accept the circumstances, but we feel at peace and move on from there.
How can you practice contentment from the inside out, and the outside in? We can grab a hold of the reins of our mind and senses through being conscious of our actions, our feelings and our thoughts. We can hold them, and work through them. Even if we’re feeling frustration, anxiety, worry, fear, or anger, we can work through that without having to throw it out on somebody else, making the whole situation worse. We have compassion for ourselves and others, by taking responsibility for ourselves. “Here I am. I may not be in control of the circumstances, but I’m always in control of how I respond and resolve a situation within myself.”
As long as we’re breathing in and out, we’re going to be riding on this sea of life, which is like riding a wave. Some of them are bigger than others; some of them knock us over. Some of them are fun to ride. So, it’s up to us to make the effort each day to find that place of peace. It’s funny that it takes effort to find that peace, but it does because there’s so much swirling around us all the time, so many circumstances. You have to make the effort.
• by Dawn King • photo by April Juels • Today, I found myself reflecting on the music gathering we had last Saturday at Sunburst. People came from near and far corners of California to play and listen to impromptu performances. Mostly the instruments were windblown—Native American style and other flutes, including a didgeridoo, with drums and hand-held percussion. Some years we have participants from out-of-state. This annual event is always well attended, and very enjoyable; some of the musicians are world-class professionals.
What I reflected on this morning was finding myself thinking, “I wish this moment would never end.” Right then, my husband was playing a Native American style flute while a friend was playing a Japanese bamboo flute (shakuhachi). It was such a beautiful moment of harmony, and breath. Every onlooker was rapt with enjoyment. The consciousness of the whole room was raised to a high vibration. It felt as though we were all beyond any thoughts, simply suspended in the exquisite beauty, peace, and perfect harmony. We were in a moment of Heaven on Earth—everything was perfect.
It is my good fortune to have had a number of these Heaven-on-Earth moments, times when I’ve wished the moment would never end. Today I realized that this euphoric feeling is the enjoyment of being in a state of illumination, or Christ consciousness. One’s higher senses, and deeper heart’s love are experienced so intensely, with so much joy. These are moments in which we may find ourself moved to tears—tears of joy.
My greater realization today is that this transcendent experience is available to us EVERY moment. We only need to see/hear/feel the perfection of every moment of life. Through the eyes of the Divine Creator, ALL is perfect. And no moment in time is ever lost from the memory of the Creator.
Our challenge today is to be fully here NOW. The NOW is all that exists, and in the NOW, as you read this, you are FINE. How many moments we have in which we are fine, secure, needing nothing more than to breathe! The more we consciously realize this, the more of these “perfect” moments we will have. We were not created to suffer, but created to enjoy living. We have to allow ourselves to hold that thought, and find the Good, the Beauty, the Love that is available to us. We need only embrace and nurture that which brings joy to our hearts.
The Earth is freeing itself from the negativity which has inadvertently polluted its aura. There may be increasing fires, floods, earthquakes, etc. as this cleansing takes place. Be assured that this is only increasing a pull to Spirit within humankind, like no other time.
Fear comes from thinking we are alone, or not good enough. We are never alone, and we are made in the perfect image of our Creator. All we need do is ask Divine Spirit for help, and it will come. Sometimes it comes from our own realization of the next steps we need to take. We are to empower ourselves by realizing our oneness with the Divine, and offering our gifts to others, to Nature, to the Earth. It starts with our own consciousness, NOW.
Postscript • Before posting this blog, I shared it with a friend who is a long time Zen Buddhist. He commented:
I like what you said in your blog article. The only reality is the present moment. The Divine is always with us.
In Buddhism, everything comes from the same source, yet everything is always arising and disappearing.
A person can fail many times, but they are not a failure until they begin to blame somebody else.
• Excerpt from Thich Nhat Hanh • When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don’t blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce.
Yet if we have problems with our friends or family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like the lettuce. Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and argument.
That is my experience. No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding. If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change.
• More Notes on Blame and Success in Life •
When there is a problem, the best approach is to figure out the root cause. There can be a tendency to place blame, especially on others. Embracing accountability and responsibility helps us realize how we can do better as individuals, and as a group.
This requires an inner and outer environment in which it’s okay to accept responsibility; it’s okay to acknowledge you’ve made a mistake if you have. Then we need to move on in our thinking. Often the root cause of a problem is simply miscommunication, misunderstanding, or lack of information.
Introspection is vital for spiritual growth. It is helpful for group endeavors as well—periodical review of how well we’re doing.
Personal introspection and Self-affirmation helps us grow up as individuals—to assess our progress on meeting our goals in life, and on being who we want to be. Likewise a group with a common vision (be it a family or a company) with self-organizing teams and good infrastructure, makes forward progress and detects problems quickly. And this is a perfect environment for individuals to feel like they are contributing.
The blame game is not for us. Being motivated by a heart of love and kindness benefits us all.
• by Dawn King • Hidden, or buried treasure awaits our discovery! This treasure, we’ll find, is worth more than diamonds and gold. It is the wealth of joy, strength, and contentment continuously revealed in new ways as we mine the depths of Spirit.
By Spirit, I mean that Life within us, our innate mystical oneness with our Creator. Just as our DNA connects us to all those souls who precede us, the Life within us is our connection to ALL that exists, and its Source. Acknowledging “all that exists” includes, for me, a growing conscious understanding of the whys and hows—the answers to my questions about Life.
Because our everyday consciousness is so limited, we expand beyond it by exploring our feelings and intuition. These seem to be in another realm, other than the physical…and they are. Ever more “treasure” is uncovered as we “listen” to our intuition, and are conscious of our feelings. An introspective and meditative mind is a great tool in this endeavor, one we should maintain. Then it will never cease to entertain us.
Wayne Dyer reveals: The essential lesson I’ve learned in life is to just be yourself. Treasure the magnificent being that you are and recognize first and foremost you’re not here as a human being only. You’re a spiritual being having a human experience.
You might enjoy the following variety of quotes about finding hidden treasure:
It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure. – Joseph Campbell
Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. Selflessness is the greatest joy. – Lao Tzu
Treasure your relationships, not your possessions. – Anthony J. D’Angelo
A box without hinges, key, or lid, yet golden treasure inside is hid. – J.R.R. Tolkein
Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness. – George Sand
To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose. And if you no longer need them, then that is neither wasteful nor shameful. Can you truthfully say that you treasure something buried so deeply in a cupboard or drawer that you have forgotten its existence? – Marie Kondo
If love is the treasure, laughter is the key. – Yakov Smirnoff
Happiness is your own treasure because it lies within you. – Prem Rawat
Treasure the love you receive above all. It will survive long after your good health has vanished. – Og Mandino
• by Norman Paulsen, Sunburst’s founder • In the beginning was the great ignition and explosion of light and life force. Everything that exists originated at that point in deep space: spinning galaxies, star systems, planets, and all life forms including these bodies that we find ourselves encompassed in today.
Each of us is directly connected to the Source, the first ignition, through an inner-dimensional tunnel of light. This tunnel can be seen in deep meditation by the grace of Spirit, and sometimes through accident or illness. Every human being is connected. This means every human being can see God face to face—can see the center of creation, the light where it all began.
The experience is of seeing the impossible being possible; this incredible vision staggers the self-conscious mind. It goes reeling away with all its former concepts of what the world is, what God is, and what life’s about. All concepts are being destroyed in the immensity of the stupendous reality of this experience.
The self-conscious mind wants to believe that God is alive, but it has no proof. We want to believe we are immortal and we’re going to gain a heavenly place, but we don’t have any proof. This event is more than the proof; it’s the direct experience of immortality. In that moment, looking into that Light and Presence, the most wondrous thing is that it is personal!
Yes, the light you see at the end of the tunnel, appearing brighter than our physical sun, begins to speak through audible thought transference. You hear a voice that is seemingly coming from all space, but it’s directed to you personally through inner space.
There’s a personal relationship just for you with the Divine, like a son or daughter to a father or mother. That relationship is such that you always wanted to believe it was possible, and suddenly, here it is. You are in it; you are experiencing it. It’s true, and it’s staggering. There are no words to describe it.
• by Dawn King • Much as things may seem to be unchanging when we want them to change in some way (an illness, our paycheck, a government), Life is Change. We need to appreciate those things we count on each day. Take time to think about what those things are and be grateful for them. They may be gone tomorrow!
I’m stopping now to acknowledge those anchors in my life: my husband, my spiritual community, the wonderful area in which I live. No matter how much I may think of myself as a “loaner”, each of us needs our community, our “tribe,” because the tribal survival instinct is built into our DNA. If you haven’t done so already, find your tribe! Any group will do if it gathers due to a common interest that you enjoy pursuing. But it should be a physical face-to-face gathering to truly meet your need for tribe; i.e. not one on social media or Zoom.
We’re living in a time of amazingly rapid changes in technology and consciousness. As someone with many decades to reflect upon, I’ve experienced a much simpler life (the 60s and earlier), moving at a much slower pace. It was wonderful! We could actually digest the experiences of each day, instead of reeling from the dizzying barrage of stimulus that assaults us from every direction today.
How can we find our center in this busy world today? In perfect harmony with Paramahansa Yogananda and Sunburst’s teachings, Omar Itani reminds us of the ancient Japanese Wabi-Sabi philosophy:
“Wabi is about recognizing beauty in humble simplicity. It invites us to open our heart and detach from the vanity of materialism so we can experience spiritual richness instead. Sabi is concerned with the passage of time, the way all things grow, age, and decay, and how it manifests itself beautifully in objects. It suggests that beauty is hidden beneath the surface of what we actually see, even in what we initially perceive as broken. Together, these two concepts create an overarching philosophy for approaching life: Accept what is, stay in the present moment, and appreciate the simple, transient stages of life.
Strive not for perfection, but for excellence instead. In other words, simply do your best to be the best that you can be.
All things in life, including you, are in an imperfect state of flux. Change is the only constant. Everything is transient and nothing is ever complete. And that’s why perfection doesn’t exist.
Slow down and simplify your life. Otherwise, you’ll rush through it, arrive at the end and wonder, ‘What was the point?’ Slowing down is what helps you become a more observant person. Which then helps you become more self-aware.…Immerse yourself into the fabric of this universe and appreciate it for what it is: The joy of watering your flowers in the morning, the joy of watching a sunset, etc.
So what’s the problem with chasing success? First, it will always evade you. And second, it’s virtually impossible to be happy all the time. The root of all unhappiness is born from being discontent with where you are and what you have. It really is as simple as that. To be content with what you have and where you are is to be grateful. To be content with what you have and where you are, while working toward what you want, and fully trusting that you can achieve it, is to be intentional. And through gratitude, intention, and action, you find happiness.
But at its core, wabi-sabi reminds you that life is fragile and temporary, it is as impermanent as anything else in nature, so why not give yourself permission to be just that, yourself?”
You may want to read the whole article; it’s found at: https://www.omaritani.com/blog/
