Creat 'I' Witty

Ignite the creativity in ‘me’

The infinite spectrum of creativity has often been perceived as limited to the fields like art and literature. It is because when we think from limited mind, things look in a very small bracket, as our conscious mind is not bigger than a bubble. The scientists have proved that the capacity of human brain is immense but we are using only 3% of our brain; this means even Einstein used just close to 6% of his capacity.

With the limitations of the mind, we tend to believe that 'creativity' means art, literature, dance or music. But once we transcend the mind then we realize that right from the smallest speck of dust to the largest volumptuous sized planet in cosmos, each and every area is part of creativity; even a glade of grass is so immaculately designed and shaped, has been given a specific color, identity, and consciousness, but which is in sleep mode. When we say 'creativity' then whatever our senses can perceive and whatever is beyond the perception, whatever we can think about and whatever is beyond thinking comes in the region of creativity. So, we cannot use a marker and boldly say that this is a part of the creativity, and rest is not. Nothing in this universe is mundane. The flawless beauty of trees and plants, the blossoming of flowers, the chirping of birds, all is happening because of creativity. Just have a look at your hands; they are so intricately, beautifully, and creatively aligned. Can this be compared with something lesser than an art? The way your eyes and ears are working; the way the dance of the blood is happening in your body; it's more of a "dance" as it is going against the gravity, rushing all towards the head and it's coming back down. So, we cannot limit creativity to art, literature, music or dance. Creativity is much bigger and we need to broaden up our vision to really understand this.

In Mythology, we say that the creator has created this creation, the world, which we are seeing, but if you go more into the depth, then there is no creator but creativity is happening. It's a constant process; the nature is working constantly & persistently.

"Creativity is a continuous process and you cannot put it in a bracket that these things alone fit into the label of creativity and rest does not. Creativity is something which is an 'integral part' of us. The only thing is that we have to open-up our eyes to see, admire and enjoy the creativity."

Innate great creative capacities

Every human being is born with great capacities: capacity to think, to create, to admire beauty, to write beautiful poetry, painting, dancing, cooking, mothering, fathering. There are scores of people who are painters but they don't know that they have this capacity or ability in them.

Society at large is more concerned for pleasing the senses. So, there is a non-ending list of materials which people long and dream to possess, including the hunger to get recognition, name and fame. They go on praying to God for fulfillment of their wants and wishes. Now actually it's not what they want, it is what they are seeing that people have it and now they too want to have what others have.

We can say that creativity exists in every person. Cooking is an expression of creativity; keeping your books neatly on the book-shelf is creativity. Beauty too is an expression of creativity. Move into the tribal areas where there is no reach of any cosmetic industries and neither do they have money to spend on products, but yet all these women have innovative ways to beautify their bodies. They might use the chalk or mix ash or use some dye made by crushing some plant leaves, and make a paste to then beautify her body. This too is creativity.

Now, creativity is being lost in these mundane activities. Right from the tribal woman, to that upscale New York cosmopolitan educated woman who has loads of money to spend and buy those expensive things from 52nd Avenue, both these women have their own versions of creativity but both of them are concerned with their body alone. Their expression of creativity is too much limited to the matter, their body, which is mortal. So we can say that it is not the optimum or real creativity. But everyone has it, in one proportion or degree

Love brings out all creativity

We need to relate and spend more time with our own self; Relating with one self means relating with breath, mind, brain and then consciousness. The more you bring this "pranic energy" in your body, higher will be the degree of your consciousness.

The higher the degree of consciousness, there will be more possibilities for the higher intuitions to happen to you.

And when you are in the range where mind has been uncluttered, body has been energized with "Prana Energy", with the "Cosmic Energy", you are more at an receiving end, where you'll be able to imbibe the knowledge, the wisdom from your own higher regions. This is the best thing which one can do and this means you need to learn "yoga". You need to learn to meditate. You need to learn the value and the celebration of 'singing', the 'kirtan'. You need to learn to be in 'love'. Love brings out all creativity. You need to be in love with your own true self, your own 'higher self' and those who will begin to move in this direction, their personalities get shaped up.

To Read Complete Article Subscribe Soul Curry Now!!! You can also watch videos on creativity in video gallery. Click to enter in video gallery.

close

Stop Thinking, Enjoy Living

Understanding mind is more of an inward study than an outward discovery. And once you get to know it completely, you just move beyond it because knowing is moving beyond.

Thinking is a continuous process to an extent that we don't need liberation from any external entity but our own mind. What is the meaning of mind? The mind means thoughts and, the existence of this mind is a mere illusion. It is very easy to understand the concrete thing, but how can one understand the functioning of the mind which is just a mirage, and yet rules our world and our actions.

Understanding mind is more of an inward study than an outward discovery. And once you get to know it completely, you just move beyond it because knowing is moving beyond. To be able to understand your mind, it is important to begin discovering your mind, searching within your mind.

We are always engrossed in our activities, but the essential nature of mind is to be detached. The temperament of this mind is such that no matter how hard we try to bind it to this world, it refuses to be bound. This mind does not belong to anyone; it is dispassionate and remains so.

You can discover this nature of mind by being determined in your spiritual practice. Repeated practice brings its own maturity into the performance and you cannot practice anything without possessing an element of persistence. If you are not persistent, then you cannot attain excellence in your spiritual practice. I will get up in the morning at four, do my meditation, if this tenacity is not within you, then your mind will find hundreds of reasons, thousands of excuses saying, "Where is the need for me to wake up early in the morning? How does it matter if I do my meditation a little later? And anyway, I practice these things everyday, so even if I don't do it one day, it will not really make a difference." The mind will grope for numerous reasons to disrupt you. But, spiritual pursuit is not possible without firm determination.

Another important thing is that you should not be stubborn while living out your role in society. It is not advisable to be stubborn in your interactions and behavior with others. But the same stubbornness becomes a good thing when an aspirant brings it within a realm of his spiritual pursuit. Don't be stubborn with others. Keep your stubbornness to yourself but that too, should be within a limit. What kind of limit? Be adamant but only from the point of view of spiritual pursuit. Without this stubbornness, devoid of this determination, we cannot move much ahead in spiritual practice.

Now, we want to practice spirituality, we want to be solely devoted to God; but in our thoughts, in our conversations, the topics are generally neither those relating to God or to spiritual practice. Whenever you talk, whom do you talk about? You always talk about others. Those others can be your relatives, friends, or anyone else or any other topic of conversation.

Thoughts of others are crowds. When we begin thinking about others, we move away from meditation. When we talk about others, whether good things or bad things, then our concentration shifts from ourselves to the person that we are talking about. As long as we are attached to 'others' in our mind and in our thoughts, we will not be able to develop longing for God. Mind is the only barrier between you and God. The one, who knows this mind, can move beyond it. To discover mind, two things are important: first is your resolve and the second is ridding your mind of the thoughts of others.

Must do:

Watch your mind to see what kinds of thoughts come in it. Do not pass judgment on these thoughts saying that this is a good thought or this is a bad thought. Your mind is a showman; it brings so many shows in front of you, just watch these shows of your own mind. Adopting an approach of witness, watch your mind and its activities like an observer, unattached. Don't get carried away by those activities. When you view your mind as an observer, the mind will cease to be a problem and become, instead, merely a free entertainer.

Carry out this experiment

Make a resolve, "I am not going to discuss others". Sit with someone thinking that "I will surely talk, but today I will not talk about others." Other means anybody other than the two of you. Even God & Guru come in the category of others. Do talk but the topic of your conversation must not be 'others'. Then there will be nothing to talk about. When there remains nothing to talk about, you will become quiet and when you become quiet, only then will you be able to investigate your own mind. And what is required to observe one's own mind? Silence is required. As long as your mind is noisy, as long as it goes on thinking about other people, you can not hear even the words of wisdom.

When you sit down for meditation, you say, "Numerous thoughts keep crossing your mind" All this thinking that you are doing, whatever you are contemplating, who are all these thoughts about? About others! When you begin thinking about others, you move away from meditation. You sat down with the intention of praying to God and are actually thinking of others. Whether this thinking is good or bad is immaterial; the fact is that your goal is not attained.

Stop thinking about others, stop discussing others and stop talking about others. Whenever thoughts of others begin to arise in your mind, then use the sword of knowledge to chop off the heads of those thoughts, saying, "I am not going to think about others." When you quit thinking about others, when you set your mind absolutely free from others, then you become an aspirant, a discoverer, a saadhak in the real sense.

"Be a witness to your mind and then only you come to know that you and your mind are different entities."

close

Cosmic Fusion

The worship of woman has always been a central theme of tantra. However, this concept must be enlarged to include an appreciation and acceptance of the universal feminine aspects inherent in both sexes. This is not an easy task, because society and education in the west have reinforced the masculine values in both men and women. Nevertheless, men must discover the feminine side of their nature, and both sexes must restructure their way of thinking and living around these qualities.

The biology of sex

Every single cell of the body contains the complete genetic coding which determines the sex of an individual. This is how scientists are able to identify the sex of Olympic athletes by testing their blood. From the moment of conception, every human foetus has a latent set pattern for the brain and nervous system which includes sexuality. The research discoveries of Charles Phoenix, Robert Joy and William Young at Kansas University, USA, since 1950 have established that all mammalian foetuses begin life as females. The actual sexual differentiation is controlled by the gonads, those organs which later on produce the sex cells in the mature individual. If the gonads produce a small amount of androgen hormone, a male embryo results. If no hormonal impulse is given by the gonads, the foetus continues to develop as a female. Thus, during his whole life, the male is always influenced by this underlying female infrastructure.

Sex and society

In every patriarchal society, woman has been subservient to man, and sexually repressed. If she were free to express herself fully, she would undoubtedly disrupt the established order. Because tantra affirms the female side of human nature, it is seen as a threat to the Aryan patriarchal order. This is why it has always been persecuted in India. On the other hand, in the evolution of any society, the male qualities of physical strength and prowess are vital for survival. Man regards himself as superior because he is taller and physically stronger. In many civilizations this has been used as an excuse to subjugate women, whereas its purpose is quite different. The woman necessarily has the main part to play in child-rearing. Therefore the role of the man, and the reason for his physical strength, is to protect the woman and offspring, even to the extent of self-sacrifice, if need be. Moreover, the great potentiality of the male reproductive system renders him much more easily sacrificed.

A woman can, at most, can give birth to twenty children during her lifetime.

But even if all but a few males were exterminated, the population could be replenished within a short time.

Woman as initiator

The feminine qualities are deeply rooted in the layers of our psyche which form the unconscious, the world of instincts and impelling forces. J.Guenther writes in 'Yuganaddha, the Tantric View of Life': 'The woman's consciousness is different-she has already become aware of things while the man still stumbles in darkness. Women are able to sense the subtleties of any situation, and to react accordingly, while men, due to their conditioning, are less able to do this. The feminine reality thus merges with the timeless infinity of the cosmos.

In this transcendental state, it is possible to experience an uninhibited free flow of energy.

This is more than just intellectual knowledge; it is wisdom. The world of the woman may appear very strange to the man; however it is actually his own most intimate world as well, which only waits to be realised.'

The feminine values do exist in men, but from childhood they are suffocated and repressed, and their rediscovery is a difficult task. The first step is to understand that there is nothing to be understood, that everything has to be felt and experienced. That is why, in left hand tantra, the woman is the initiator, the guru. It is she who opens the doors which lead man into the depths of his own being. If tantra were a religion, it would be presided over by priestesses, and only men who had developed the qualities of intuition and transcendence would qualify as priests.

The tantric gains access to this feminine universe through the concrete aspects of the woman, his companion, providing he is able to open himself. At the same time, this enables the woman to become aware of the male aspects within herself. Again here Guenther writes, 'Each time the man encounters his feminine partner, who represents an aspect of life not yet lived or perceived by him, excluded from his consciousness, he opens himself to that feminine part dwelling in him and the woman encounters the awaiting masculine part residing in her. The one-sidedness of their characters is abandoned, and their total beings are thereby enriched.'

Cosmic fusion

'When man becomes aware that his current field of consciousness is only a fractional part of the totality of his divine nature, this brings him to a new vision of womanhood. From then on, he identifies all women with their divine aspects. He begins to appreciate in them all those abilities and qualities from which he has excluded himself. He realizes that this disability cannot be overcome through suppression of his masculinity but only through a fusion in which feminine and masculine integrate themselves harmoniously. By introducing the underlying cosmic realities into his life, man will come to respect and venerate all women because he will find this new relationship to be much more fulfilling than his previous brutal domination.

'Thus, feminine worship signifies recognition of the real qualities of woman and acceptance of her as a guide in that profound drama of integration in which she transcends the limits erected by the male. This is the reciprocal game between the inner and the outer world. 'For the male, woman is both a material being and a goddess. By her, a world of love and beauty can be created.' Woman was the original form of life of which the earliest populations were aware. Tantra, worshipping the mother goddess principle, woman as the first ancestor, has inherited that knowledge. Now the same fact has been discovered by modern science, but tantra has always recognised that the cosmic forces which animate all forms of life and expression in our world are predominant in every woman.

close

You are what you think

For a charming personality laying emphasis on beauty is not the only criteria, overall development of the personality is crucial. Many times attitude becomes more important that aptitude in determining one's success in life. Take the example of the greatest inventor - Thomas Edison. Edison tried 10,000 times to get his light bulb invention to work, but failed each time. However, he had this to say about his lack of success. "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

The way you think, day in day out, affects all aspects of your life. No matter how bad the circumstances, negativity never even enters their minds, let alone crosses their lips to form negative, faithless words! But let's be honest, encountering a positive person is a rare occurrence these days. Having positive thoughts will improve your quality of life and work, so it is essential that you start thinking in a positive manner right away. And this, in fact, is easier done than said. It's not at all difficult to think positively. Here are few tips especially for readers to develop a positive attitude in everything that they do.

Be Positive - Tips:

• Believe - You cannot pretend to be a positive thinker. You need to believe it. In positive thinking, you need not pretend because there's no one to pretend to. It is for your self growth. If somebody believes that you are a positive thinker, how can that benefit you? One of the most important aspects of positive thinking is that you should believe it.
• Listen to internal dialogue - Divide one or more sheets of paper into two columns and, for a few days, jot down in the left column all the negative thoughts that come into your head. Rewrite each thought in a positive way in the second column. Practice doing this in your mind until it becomes a habit. (For example, "I'll never get this finished by the end of the day!" could become, "I will probably get most of this finished by the end of the day.")
• Surround yourself with positives - positive friends, upbeat music, happy thoughts, and your favorite memories. Call your friends every once in a while and get together to have fun.
• Stop letting other people's negative attitudes influence yours - This may mean we need to stop hanging around with people who do nothing but spout negative stuff. We can't afford to do this when our goal is to become more positive. The negative people in our life aren't going to like it when we stop participating in negativity. Just remember that birds of a feather really do flock together.
• Learn to communicate - Not saying the things we feel can lead to a sense of frustration, hurt, anger or anxiety. If you find communicating difficult, or are afraid of arguments or bruised feelings, take a course in communicating effectively.
• Find your spirituality - Research has shown that those who have developed their spirituality through associating with other spiritual individuals or having their own personal and unique beliefs live longer, more satisfying lives. The secret is practicing those beliefs, either through organized spiritual associations, or simple meditation in a quiet place.

Many times, attitude becomes more important than aptitude in determining one's success in life.

• Allow yourself to laugh - Find humour in the simplest of things. Laughter is a powerful mood elevator. If you are feeling down, read some jokes, watch a funny movie or just act ‘silly’ once in awhile. At times, it is a good thing to let yourself see the world through a child's eyes.

"Always, keep your face to the sun, And shadows will fall behind you."

• Help someone out - The simple act of helping others helps us to feel good. Pick up groceries for an aging neighbor, volunteer at your local hospital or read a book to someone with failing eyesight. If you are unsure of how to help out in your community, call your nearest volunteer centre.
• Nobody's perfect - Remember that failing is okay too, as long as you can pick yourself back up and learn from the experience.
• Try again - Approach the situation which was bothering you once again and try to tackle it with a renewed positive mind set this time.
• Take care of your health - One step to achieving the power of positive thinking is taking care of your body. All of the positive thinking in the world can't help you if you are dead, can it? You need to have a healthy body in order to fuel your positive thinking.
• Have patience - Remember that you cannot hurry into getting positive. You need to pace yourself in order to prevent yourself from breaking down. Go slowly and take life one day at a time. So Pace yourself!

Self-Help Tips

• will think of myself as Successful!
• will have positive expectations for everything I do!
• will remind myself of past successes!
• will not dwell on failures; I just will not repeat them!
• will surround myself with positive people and ideas!
• will keep trying until I achieve the results I want!

close