Tools for Transformation – Mantras

Jan 21
2014

Two Perspectives on Mantras as a Tool for Transformation

Dr. Amit Nagpal, New Delhi, India, and

Dr. Janet Smith Warfield, Florida, USA

Dr. Amit Nagpal’s Perspective

Amit Nagpal (new)(cropped)What is a Mantra?

According to Wikipedia, Mantra (Sanskrit) means a sacred utterance, numinous sound, or a syllable, word, phonemes, or group of words believed by some to have psychological and spiritual power. The Sanskrit word mantra- (m.; also n. mantram) consists of the root man- “to think” (also in manas “mind”) and the suffix -tra, designating tools or instruments, hence a literal translation would be “instrument of thought”.

Mantra Chanting

There is a saying in Sanskrit, “Mananaat traayate iti mantrah” which means, “That which uplifts by constant repetition is a Mantra.” The recitation of Sanskrit Mantras transforms you by uplifting you to your higher self and the sound plays a critical role here.

Silencing the Mind

When one is fully immersed in the moment, it becomes a meditation of sorts. Yet it is a difficult skill to practice for a layman. One finds answers to life’s challenges in silence, rather than thinking or worrying. Yet those who have not experienced true silence may find it difficult to understand this. Here is a parody on mind:

The more she thought, the less she could think,
And the more she thought that ‘she thought’, even less she could think.
Then she thoughtfully gave it a serious thought and found it all unworthy of a thought,
And she experienced that the best state was actually a state of ‘Thoughtlessness.’

Love your thoughts tenderly.

Most people get irritated by the constant flow of thoughts in the mind and feel helpless. The important point we need to remember is that the dislike for the mind’s noise and clutter of thoughts does not solve but rather increases the problem. Most people fail at meditation and give up. Mantra chanting is an easier (though cruder) form of meditation and contemplation.

Here is a short poem on finding the beauty of silence by treating thoughts tenderly rather than disliking them:

She saw an army of a thousand thoughts coming.
She sent a thousand thoughts to greet and love them.
They got busy greeting—hugging each other.
And she wisely found, ‘The beauty of silence’.

Conclusion

Personally I regained my lost creativity by chanting the “Nam Myo ho Renge Kyo” mantra for one hour every day for a period of six months. Two stories explain this journey in detail, “How I regained my lost creativity?” and “3 Life lessons that led to Social Media Success.”

Once you experience the bliss of silence, you automatically become regular in contemplative practice. As they rightly say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

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Dr Amit Nagpal is Chief Inspirational Storyteller at AL Services. He is a Social Media Influencer,  Author, Speaker/Trainer & Coach. To know more, visit www.dramitnagpal.com. (His special interest and expertise lies in inspirational storytelling, anecdotes and visual storytelling)

AL Services offers content development/story writing, consulting, training and other services in the area of brand storytelling. To know more, write to amit@dramitnagpal.com.

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Dr. Janet Smith Warfield’s Perspective

Dr. Janet Smith WarfieldWhat are mantras?

According to Thomas Ashley-Ferrand, mantras are sacred words of power. According to others, they are energy based sounds, embodying the highest spiritual state. Yet others refer to them as sound mysteries that change consciousness.

Some time ago, a friend sent me an email with a link to a series of SoundsTrue audios about Sanskrit mantras:

http://www.soundstrue.com/shop/STSearch.do?searchTerm=Thomas+ashley+farrand&searchDomain=author&selectedType=All+Products&searchPage=0&selectedComponentGroup=All&selectedItem=bestsellers

Knowing that I was working on another book about word energy, my foreign rights agent had previously mentioned Sanskrit as a language I should explore. Western language uses symbolism and meaning. Sanskrit uses the pure vibration of sound.

I ordered the audios and began listening. There was a mantra for bringing abundance into your life. Phonetically, it sounds like “Om schreem kleem Lakshmi ay Namaha.” Most of it is toned on a single note, with the “ay” one note higher and the “ma” in Namaha one note lower.

This longer mantra is composed of seed mantras. “Schreem” is the principle of abundance. “Kleem” is the principle of attraction. “Lakshmi” (pronounced “lockschmee”) is the Goddess of abundance, a beautiful woman with abundance flowing from her hands. “Namaha” means to salute.

According to Sanskrit philosophy, you can attract abundance into your life simply by saying, over and over, the simple seed mantra “schreem.” The longer mantra is supposed to be more powerful. I decided to play with the longer mantra and see what happened.

As I was driving to the Tampa airport to fly to Panama, I repeated the mantra over and over. Then I forgot about it.

When I arrived in Panama, there was a penny lying on the ground beneath my feet. Three days later, in Boquete, my travel agent, out of the blue, gave me a free $3 phone card. Then, my agent at the bank gave me two free 2011 calendars.

As so often happens in Panama, I fully expected the taxi driver who took me back to Boquete to notice that I was an American and triple his fee. He didn’t. It happened a second time.

Greetings, meetings, lunches, and dinners kept flowing in.

I’ve been wanting to facilitate healing workshops and had always wanted to go on a cruise. Suddenly, I was offered opportunities by PacificOrient Caribbean Cruises out of Australia and WhaleWatchingPanama around Coiba and Contadora Islands off the southern coast of Panama.

The kicker happened shortly before I arrived home. I’d been getting about ten hits a day on my website. Suddenly, the hits jumped to over 100.

Is there something going on here that I don’t understand but that somehow seems to work? Or is it just that as I focus on abundance, I become more aware of the abundance all around me flowing into my life? I don’t know the answer, but I think I’ll continue chanting the mantra.

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Dr. Janet Smith Warfield serves wisdom-seekers who want understanding and clarity so they can live peaceful, powerful, prosperous lives. Through her unique combination of holistic, creative, right-brain transformational experiences and 22 years of rigorous, left-brain law practice, she has learned how to sculpt words in atypical ways to shift her listeners into experiences beyond words, transforming turmoil into inner peace. To learn more, go to www.wordsculptures.com,  www.janetsmithwarfield.com, and www.wordsculpturespublishing.com.

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TOOLS FOR TRANSFORMATION – GRATITUDE

Dec 04
2013

Two Perspectives on Gratitude as a Tool for Transformation

Dr. Amit Nagpal, New Delhi, India, and

Dr. Janet Smith Warfield, Florida, USA

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Dr. Amit Nagpal’s Perspective

Amit Nagpal (new)(cropped)Was I always grateful? No, definitely not.

Yet I would say the most important lesson I have learned in my life is gratitude. The more grateful I became, the more blessings the Universe bestowed upon me. It has been a long journey though.

I had more complaints and less gratitude for almost 25 years of my life. I felt I always got less than what I gave. So naturally, I deserved to receive gratitude, not express it. The Chicken Soup for the Soul series initially inspired me to give thank you notes and express gratitude wholeheartedly (around 1998). While the complaining attitude was clouding my mind, gratitude helped me find clarity and fill positive energy in the mind.

The more grateful I became, the more my life began overflowing with beautiful souls. And on thanksgiving this year, I was able to gather strength to even express gratitude to the relationships which have been lessons rather than blessings. The people who had rather rubbed me like sandpaper, also deserved my gratitude, since they had made me grow and evolve. I also realized it’s good to give people a benefit of doubt. In fact practically speaking, giving benefit of doubt to people, gives you also peace of mind.

If you still have doubts, then I would speak the language of science. Gratitude releases the negative energy from the mind. When there is no negative energy (grudges, guilt, suppressed anger and so on), it is easier to meditate and find that peace or desired results. In your own interest forgive and bury the past. Wallace D Wattles rightly says, “The grateful mind is constantly fixed upon the best; therefore, it tends to become the best.”

In fact these lessons helped me find peace, and meditation helped me find perfect peace. Perfect peace led to regaining my lost creativity and finding clarity, purpose and joy. Beautiful souls walked in, unexpected events started happening, surprises started becoming a norm, and life became wonderfully worth living.

Let me end with a note of gratitude,

“Some inspiration comes from my inspiration (muse),

Some inspiration comes from the divine.

Some inspiration comes from my friends,

There is nothing I can claim to be mine.”

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Dr Amit Nagpal is Chief Inspirational Storyteller at AL Services. He is a Social Media Influencer,  Author, Speaker/Trainer & Coach. To know more, visit www.dramitnagpal.com. (His special interest and expertise lies in inspirational storytelling, anecdotes and visual storytelling)

AL Services offers content development/story writing, consulting, training and other services in the area of brand storytelling. To know more, write to amit@dramitnagpal.com.

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Dr. Janet Smith Warfield’s Perspective

Dr. Janet Smith Warfield

Tears dampen my cheek

washing the pain from my Soul.

Refreshing shower.

 

After 21 years of marriage and three children, my husband abandoned me for another woman.

I had been a wonderful wife. I had washed the family clothes, cleaned the family home, baked homemade bread, cared for our yard and organic garden, joined my husband on his sailing excursions and trips to Maine, watched football games with him, entertained his friends, played bridge with him, sung our children to sleep, read them stories, played games with them. He said we had the perfect marriage.

Yet he abandoned me and our children to rut after another woman.

My whole world turned upside down. What had I done wrong?

I lost my trust in people. I lost my trust in the social systems that had supported my family over centuries. I was hurting, my children were hurting, and there was little I could do to make anything better.

I sobbed alone at night for hours. My heart shattered wide open and split into millions of pieces.

One of our sons went from straight A’s to Straight F’s in a single year, got hooked on drugs, and became involved in physical violence and arrests. I was waking up in the middle of the night with such deep rage that it felt as if my guts were being ripped from my belly. But for emotional and financial support from my parents, I might well have bought a gun and murdered both my husband and his mistress.

How can one be grateful for such a life-shattering experience?

I learned I was a survivor and spiritual warrior. Being used by this man as a convenient housekeeper, babysitter, and sex object was not the life I was intended to live.

At age 20, becoming a lawyer had never been part of my vision. At age 40, I needed to go to law school to learn how to use words and the patriarchal system to protect myself against words and the patriarchal system. I graduated cum laude and practiced law for 22 years. On more than one occasion, bullies, incompetents, and dysfunctional politicians disintegrated and disappeared as I presented relevant facts and arguments to support a dynamic, all-inclusive, co-creative community.

I learned how to think for myself and take care of myself. I became a free woman. I am beholden to no one other than the Source I have chosen to believe in, myself, and those humans who are accountable and conscious enough to deserve my gifts and my love.

I’ve experienced many dark nights of the Soul, but I’ve learned to dance with words and dance with wisdom. I’ve even learned to dance with functional, respectful, appreciative men.

Here’s a short video on gratitude you may find useful:

Gratitude

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Dr. Janet Smith Warfield serves wisdom-seekers who want understanding and clarity so they can live peaceful, powerful, prosperous lives. Through her unique combination of holistic, creative, right-brain transformational experiences and 22 years of rigorous, left-brain law practice, she has learned how to sculpt words in atypical ways to shift her listeners into experiences beyond words, transforming turmoil into inner peace. To learn more, go to www.wordsculptures.comwww.janetsmithwarfield.com, and www.wordsculpturespublishing.com.

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Optimism, Pessimism, and Pragmatism – Which is Best?

Aug 13
2012

 

 

Two Perspectives on Optimism, Pessimism, and Pragmatism

Dr. Amit Nagpal, New Delhi, India, and

Dr. Janet Smith Warfield, Florida, USA

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Dr. Amit Nagpal’s Perspective

 
 
 
“Two men look out through the same bars,
One sees the mud, the other sees the stars.”
~Frederick Langbridge
 
 
 
 
 
 

Frederick Langbridge believed so, but I think he forgot people like me. I believe you should neither see the mud nor the stars, but rather see what is in the front. Optimism may make us unrealistic; pessimism may depress us (and make us lonely also), so pragmatism is the best policy.

But Optimism Sounds Better

People love optimistic company (and not pragmatic) and (on a lighter note) the most optimistic people end up becoming the best motivational speakers. Nobody wants pessimistic company unless you want to crib and share your pessimism at times. Also, it is easier to be a leader when you are optimistic because people have more faith in your success. Everyone is struggling in the world in some way and we all are looking for someone to motivate and inspire us all the time, more so from our leaders.

Best Case Scenario and Worst Case

Even organizations create two scenarios – best case scenario and worst case scenario. I believe neither the best happens in reality, nor the worst. What usually happens is the average. Or sometimes the best happens, sometimes the worst, and ends up on the whole with the average.

Which is Best?

Who gets the optimum in life, the optimistic, the pessimistic or the pragmatic? Should you be pragmatic for yourself and optimistic sounding with people? Should you expect the best and be prepared for the worst? Should you listen to the eternal optimist-soul or eternal pessimist-mind? Tough questions indeed and the answer is different for each person at a different point of time.

The mind is busy in feasibility studies; the soul is busy in possibility studies. The soul is divinely optimistic, the mind is animally pessimistic. You must move from the mind to the soul, which is a long journey. When you have mastered the law of attraction (or have become fully enlightened and under the influence of the soul), you can be optimistic all the time. Till then, it would be good to be pragmatic.

I can read your mind. You are wondering. “So what do you personally do?”

I ask both soul and mind, and then divide it by two.

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Dr Amit Nagpal is a Personal Branding Consultant & Deepest Passion Coach. He is based in New Delhi, India and specializes in personal branding with a holistic touch. His philosophy is, “Enlarge as a Human Being, Excel as a Social Media Being and Evolve as a Personal Brand”

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Dr. Janet Smith Warfield’s Perspective

 
 
 
 
“In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.” ~Michelangelo
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Here’s the proverbial half full – half empty glass. Which way do you see it? How does your choice affect your emotions? How does it affect your well-being?

When we see the glass as half empty, we see possibilities that have not yet manifested. The choir director working with a newly-formed chorus sees the possibility of a beautiful, harmonious, balanced chorale, energizing and magnetizing its audience into a larger human symphony. Michelangelo saw a block of marble and envisioned David. Jesus, the Buddha, Lao Tzu, Confucius, Plato, Socrates, and many others saw human suffering and dysfunction and envisioned an all-inclusive humanity connecting needs and resources and co-creating a dynamic, peaceful, respectful, accountable, functional society.

And yet, when we see the glass as half full, aren’t we envisioning the same things? Isn’t the space at the top of the glass simply a metaphor for our unmanifested dreams, hopes, and visions for a better life and world?

How do we manifest these visions together, in harmony? Or don’t we? Do we choose instead to blow ourselves up?

 

It is All Very Simple

 

Each of us has only one soul to fix…
Each of us has only one heart to heal…
Each of us has only one head to clear…
 
our own.
 
But we need all of us.
 
Without one, there is disorder…
Without one, there is imperfection…
Without one, there is a hole in harmony…
 
no whole.
 
It is all very simple.
We all matter.
 
Previously published in
Shift: Change Your Words, Change Your World
by Dr. Janet Smith Warfield
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Dr. Janet Smith Warfield serves wisdom-seekers who want understanding and clarity so they can live peaceful, powerful, prosperous lives. Through her unique combination of holistic, creative, right-brain transformational experiences and 22 years of rigorous, left-brain law practice, she has learned how to sculpt words in atypical ways to shift her listeners into experiences beyond words, transforming turmoil into inner peace. For more information, see www.wordsculptures.com, www.wordsculpturespublishing.com www.janetsmithwarfield.com

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Additional Resources:

http://blog.ted.com/2012/06/28/the-glass-is-half-empty-and-half-full-tedglobal-2012-day-3-recap/
http://uncommonchick.com/glass-half-empty-or-half-full/
 


 



Love – The Most Misused Word in the World

Nov 19
2011

Two Perspectives on Love

Dr. Amit Nagpal, New Delhi, India, and

Janet Smith Warfield, J.D., Florida, USA

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Dr. Amit Nagpal’s Perspective

When we say, “I love you”, most of us are actually saying, “I need emotional energy. Do you also need it? Can we exchange it?” Some of us will say, “So what is wrong, everything is give and take in this world.” And others will say, “Sadly this is true, even love has become a business of emotions.”

I am a true Libran and I am always trying to achieve that delicate balance (though I may not succeed all the time). On one hand I agree there is no harm in give and take (In fact my favorite Hindi song Sach mere yaar hai has a similar tone) and it is difficult for a human being to love someone who does not love you in return. On the other hand if every time you tell your loved one, “See I have done this for you and now you must do this for me in return, it can become a very logical love.” Love is of course a very beautiful emotion which should not get too logical.

Business of love

For most of us love is a business where we invest emotional energy to get equal emotional energy in return. I sometimes jokingly use the management term ‘Return on investment’ or ROI. Though our economies keep on fluctuating between recession and boom, I think love in this world has been in the depression stage for quite some time. The return on the investment on love has become very low. The next thing which immediately strikes our mind is, “Does unconditional love exist in today’s world?”

Unconditional love

I once posted on Facebook, “Since you have met my conditions, now I shall give you unconditional love and the human story goes on.” Sadly this is the true state of affairs. Mothers in particular and parents in general do give us unconditional love to their children but the duration and intensity of the unconditional love is being questioned in the society now. So why is LOVE disappearing into thin air?

Love in a materialistic world

As our greed for material becomes stronger and stronger, the life span of love becomes shorter and shorter. “Kab aata hai, kab jaata hai…” Love comes and goes but as long as it stays it takes you through a heavenly experience. Since the world has become too materialistic, the relationships have become too vulnerable. But we need to remember, the less love we get, the more we try to feed our insecurities with money and material. Money can never give the lasting happiness which loving relationships can. But our greed for money and increasing distrust in the negative society we live in has created a question mark on the status of love.

Is true love possible?

Love is a much glorified word and is probably the most misused word in the world. I am reminded of a famous quote which is probably true for love too, “Love is dead. Long live love.” The base human feelings of selfishness must be conquered first to be able to love someone. In fact my experience has been, you should be either too mature or too spiritual to develop the capacity to love truly.

Though love is a very broad word and covers love for living and non-living things but love in a narrow sense is used for life partner. In fact as the society evolves, we will move from the concept of life partner to life purpose partner. When we discover our deepest passion and life purpose we would want a life purpose partner who supports us in our mission. That’s why they say, “Love is not looking into each other’s eyes but looking together in the same direction.”

I remember receiving a beautiful New Year message from a friend sometime back, “Faith makes all things possible, hope makes all things work and love makes all things beautiful.” We have moved from love to business of love and now to tamasha of love. Will love stage a comeback in the society? Is there a hope in the near future? Will we achieve a delicate balance between love and money, emotion and material? I am keenly awaiting your answers.

Inspiring Quotes on Love

To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.

-Lao Tzu

‎A man travels all over the World to find what he needs and returns home to find it

-George Moore

_____________________________________________________________________________________ Dr. Amit Nagpal is a Personal Branding Consultant, passionate Blogger, and Motivational Speaker based in New Delhi, India. He specializes in personal branding with a holistic touch. His philosophy is “Take Charge of your Life and your Brand” _______________________________________________________________________________

Janet Smith Warfield’s Perspective

What is love?

Yesterday, in preparation for writing this blog, I reread Plato’s Symposium. In the Symposium, Socrates and his friends, Phaedrus, Pausanias, Eryximachus, Aristophanes, and Agathon take turns conversing about love. Their offerings end with a dialog between Socrates and Socrates speaking as Diotema, a wise woman of Mantineia, who was Socrates’ instructress about love.

Phaedrus speaks of love as being courageous, true, and honorable – a willingness to die for another.

Pausanias differentiates between heavenly love and earthly love. Heavenly love has a noble purpose, is faithful to the end, and has no shadow of lust. Earthly love is a coarser kind of love – love only of the body.

Eryximachus, the physician, focuses on the reconciliation or harmony which unites opposites. Love which is just and temperate has the greatest power and is the source of happiness.

Aristophanes professes that love is the desire for the whole. The pursuit of the whole, or reconciliation with God, is called love.

Agathon states that love dwells in the hearts and souls of men and can neither do nor suffer wrong. Where there is love, there is obedience. Where there is obedience, there is justice. Love is temperate, courageous, and wise.

Then Socrates, speaking as Diotema, dialoging with Socrates himself, begins his discourse by saying that his friends have spoken only what is good about love and not what is true about love. Socrates speaking as Diotema continues by saying that love is the son of Plenty and Poverty, both full and squalid; a mean between ignorance and knowledge, neither mortal nor immortal, never in want and never in wealth. Love interprets between gods and men. Love desires birth in beauty and the everlasting possession of the good – immortality in a mortal creature through the creation and invention of conceptions of wisdom and virtue.

The discourse is interrupted by Alcibiades, a drunken and disappointed lover of Socrates, who joins in the discourse to sing the praises of Socrates, proclaiming him a great speaker and enchanter who ravishes the souls of men and convinces their hearts. Alcibiades has suffered agonies from Socrates and is at his wit’s end. He relates Socrates’ superior powers of enduring cold and fatigue and how Socrates saved Alcibiades’ life. Socrates is the most wonderful of human beings and also a satyr. He uses the commonest words as masks for divine truths.

And then, this morning, as I was luxuriating in bed, pondering what I had read the day before and asking myself, “Well, what is love anyway?” I found myself challenged by the words with which to express the experience. We all know love when we experience it, but how can we create the words to describe it? The words can only point to the experience. They cannot accurately communicate it.

I loved my parents, even though they mistakenly guided me into physical marriage and only partially into being the creative being that I am. I loved the father of my children, even though he brought suffering into my life through an affair. I know what it feels like to love a soul mate and then be brutally abused by him. I love being immersed in beautiful sunsets, fine art, mountain waterfalls, and angelic choirs.

So what is love?

For me, it is simply a state of creative being, a dynamic energetic flow, a creative life force, constantly shifting in form as I dance my own dance of consciousness with the other life forms around me. It is the conscious choice to be the divine and support the manifestation of the divine in everything around me.

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Janet Smith Warfield works with wisdom-seekers who want understanding and clarity so they can live peaceful, powerful, prosperous lives. Through her unique combination of holistic, creative, right-brain transformational experiences and 22 years of rigorous, left-brain law practice, she has learned how to sculpt words in atypical ways to shift her listeners into experiences beyond words, transforming turmoil into inner peace. For more information about Janet, go to www.janetsmithwarfield.com; www.wordsculpturespublishing.com;   www.wordsculptures.com.

Copyright © 2011 – Janet Smith Warfield. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How, Together, Can We Co-Create a Peaceful, Prosperous Planet?

Oct 19
2011

Two Perspectives on Co-Creating a Peaceful, Prosperous Planet

Dr. Amit Nagpal, New Delhi, India, and

Janet Smith Warfield, J.D., Florida, USA

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Dr. Amit Nagpal’s Perspective

Internet and social media are bringing us together on a large scale. The spreading of protests (Occupy Wall Street) on an international scale shows that people all over the world are facing similar problems and true globalization is about to begin. The mass media can ignore things at its own peril.

The major challenges in creating a peaceful and prosperous planet are cross border conflicts, languages and cultural differences and limited interaction (to understand and appreciate other perspectives). In my opinion there are four major tools we can use to make the world a beautiful place to live in.

1)      Collaboration at individual and organization levels

People need to collaborate at individual levels using social media and internet. The collaboration between organizations (and countries of course) can also be encouraged. The three major focus areas should be world peace, education and culture (Soka Gakkai International, based in Japan works in these areas).

2)      Wisdom

Understanding the root causes of issues by increasing our wisdom levels will go a long way in creating a peaceful and prosperous world.  Knowledge puts us in the way of wisdom but wisdom is something experiential. Sandra Carey says, “Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living, the other helps you make a life.” Japanese have a nice proverb differentiating knowledge and wisdom, “Knowledge without wisdom is a load of books, on the back of an ass.”

Wisdom will help us in understanding the root causes behind international conflicts and eliminating them. It will also help us to respond rather than react to situations. Wisdom will also discourage the abuse of power.

3)      Compassion

Developing empathy and trying to understand another person’s (or race) perspective is very critical. According to the Latin roots of the word, compassion means co-suffering, suffering with others, feeling the pain of others as if it was your pain. As the saying goes, “Kindness gives to other. Compassion knows no other.” Empathetic Listening is very critical to develop compassion. Also, if you put yourself in another person’s shoes, you will be able to understand their problems better and may be able to help by suggesting solutions.

Compassion will make rich countries (and their people) more generous towards their poorer counterparts. A genuine effort will be made to uplift and the approach with focus on hard negotiations will change to a more win-win approach.

4)      Courage

People need to gather courage to stand up against injustice and vested interests that divide and create rift. Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines courage as, “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere and withstand danger, fear or difficulty. It also implies firmness of mind or will.” Letting go of fear contributes to our sanity and expands our consciousness as fear tends to hold us back, distorts our perceptions and reduces our faith.

Some politicians may have a tendency to divide people due to vested interests. People need to stand up against such efforts and discourage any actions which create further divides in society.

Conclusion

With these four simple tools, I am sure we will be on our way to co-create a peaceful and prosperous planet. The journey would be long and challenging but it is a much needed journey.

The destination will be a peaceful and prosperous planet where we shall feel blessed to be living.

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Dr Amit Nagpal is a Personal Branding Consultant and specializes in Personal Branding with a holistic touch. He is based in New Delhi, India. His philosophy is “Take charge of your life and your brand.” To learn more about him, click here: http://www.dramitnagpal.co.in/p/about-us.html

Copyright © 2011 – Dr Amit Nagpal. All rights reserved

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Janet Smith Warfield’s Perspective

Patriarchal systems are breaking down. Top down Communism no longer works. Top down democracy, bought by top down corporations, no longer works. Monarchies and dictatorships are being challenged and overthrown.

Women are waking up and starting to think for themselves. Women are no longer willing to accept the roles into which men have placed them: sex object, subservient wife, mother, cook, housekeeper, babysitter. Women are no longer willing to sit idly by and watch their husbands and sons be slaughtered by other women’s husbands and sons.

As women take back their power, men are waking up, too. They are beginning to respect the awesome female collaborative and cooperative power that can lead our entire planet away from war and violence and into global peace and abundance.

Throughout the world, men and women are aligning to bring about reform. Occupy Wall Street has spread throughout the world, as the 99% challenge the 1% whose decisions have led us to the brink of destruction.

Together, we have allowed the major news media to shape our minds, thoughts and emotions. People are tired of a steady stream of violence, verbal abuse, and news about what’s wrong with the world. Good news media are springing up everywhere to replace the naysayers and spread good news about what is working. People everywhere are seeking a return to sanity, both in their personal worlds and their collective worlds. They are starting to think for themselves so they can release their fear and depression and start taking positive action to turn themselves and our world around.

There are two concepts that can help us understand what’s happening so that together, we can consciously co-create a world that works for all of us. One is holons. The other is Teilhard de Chardin’s Noosphere.

The first concept, that of a holon, can be represented by the image above. If energy is inherent within each circle, and each circle is its own complete system (whether an atom, a cell, a heart, a human being, a planet, etc.), we have a holarchy or perhaps pure democracy or pure communism. Alternatively, we have undivided wholeness, with power and creativity flowing in all directions, top down, bottom up, and all around. Each circle/system is connected to and nestled within other more encompassing circles/systems and all are involved in an energetic exchange that affects each and every part. The challenge is to align them and bring them into harmony and balance. For the past 2,000 years, this was done through patriarchy. How interesting that this image can also be viewed as a hierarchy when the underlying energy is flowing only from the top down.

The second concept is the Noosphere or Teihard de Chardin’s thinking layer of earth. If each miniscule part of a holon is complete in itself and yet connected to all other holons, then each is connected to every other holon at a thinking level beyond itself. The Noosphere might also be referred to as the Akashic Records or the Field.

If we use our words, not to judge and condemn, but simply to share information, there is no right or wrong. There are only creative perspectives. Some perspectives work better than others. Some perspectives are more encompassing and inclusive than others. No perspective is any more encompassing and inclusive than the perspective that everything is perspective.

The perspective that everything is perspective is freeing. The way we see the world is okay. It is also terrifying and humbling. The way others see the world is also okay. If we believe that everything is perspective, we have to listen to and respect others as well as ourselves. We also need to be very aware, conscious, and accountable for all our actions.

There’s a fine line between chaos and heaven on earth. That line is non-violence and awareness. It’s a choice – for each and every one of us.

If you want to be a conscious part of co-creating a planet that works for all, you can get more information or get actively involved here: https://shiftnetwork.infusionsoft.com/go/2012e/WSP/

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Janet Smith Warfield works with wisdom-seekers who want understanding and clarity so they can live peaceful, powerful, prosperous lives. Through her unique combination of holistic, creative, right-brain transformational experiences and 22 years of rigorous, left-brain law practice, she has learned how to sculpt words in atypical ways to shift her listeners into experiences beyond words, transforming turmoil into inner peace. For more information about Janet, go to www.janetsmithwarfield.com; www.wordsculpturespublishing.com; www.wordsculptures.com.

 

Copyright © 2011 – Janet Smith Warfield. All rights reserved.

 

 


Silence

Aug 24
2011

Two Perspectives on Silence

Dr. Amit Nagpal, New Delhi, India, and

Janet Smith Warfield, J.D., Florida, USA

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Dr. Amit Nagpal’s Perspective

“The bell of mindfulness is the voice of the Buddha calling us back to ourselves. We have to respect each sound of the bell, stop our THINKING AND TALKING and get in touch with ourselves, breathing and smiling. This is not the Buddha from the outside. It is our own Buddha calling us home.”

-Thich Nhat Hanh

Bell at Buddhist Shrine, Oahu, Hawaii

Bell at Buddhist Shrine, Oahu, Hawaii

Silence. I decided to go myself into silence before I wrote the post. Few minutes of silence and I started to look at silence from a completely new perspective. Why do we equate silence only with verbal silence? Silence can be mental silence, emotional silence and spiritual silence. In fact, in my opinion verbal silence gives peace, mental silence gives joy and spiritual silence gives perfect bliss. Verbal silence gives us an opportunity to do self-reflection and develop deeper understanding of things. Mental silence provides us relaxation and clarity of thought. Emotional silence provides us equanimity and equilibrium. Spiritual silence provides us bliss and enlightenment.

Creative solutions come up in the moments of silence. Silence can even boost our self-esteem and confidence by making us the springs of ideas, solutions and divine inspirations. It is a sad contradiction of human society that we have invented powerful silencers for our vehicles yet our minds are making disturbing and never ending chatter.

If silence is so beautiful, why is the society so afraid of it? Often when we see a silent person, we ask her/him, if anything is disturbing her/him. In the well known book, “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom, the teacher (Morrie) observes fifteen minutes of silence in the class and finds that silence is embarrassing and we find comfort in noise.” Is it true that the more insecure we feel, the more we talk and the more secure we become, we get more and more silent? (Dear Readers, please post your views)

Tony Cuckson, Irish author says, “Human BEings have become human DOings. It is the rhythm, Do, Be, Do, Be.” There is a nice romantic Hindi song, “Kucch na kaho” which roughly translated means, “Don’t say anything, and in fact don’t speak at all. What is there to speak? What is there to hear? You know and I know. The moment has also come to a standstill.” So get into silence for a few minutes and you can romance not only with your beloved but with nature and the divine too.

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Dr Amit Nagpal is a Personal Branding Consultant and specializes in Personal Branding with a holistic touch. He is based in New Delhi, India. His philosophy is “Take charge of your life and your brand.” To know more about him, click here: http://www.dramitnagpal.co.in/p/about-us.html

Copyright © 2011 – Dr Amit Nagpal. All rights reserved

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Janet Smith Warfield’s Perspective

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Janet Smith Warfield works with wisdom-seekers who want understanding and clarity so they can live peaceful, powerful, prosperous lives. Through her unique combination of holistic, creative, right-brain transformational experiences and 22 years of rigorous, left-brain law practice, she has learned how to sculpt words in atypical ways to shift her listeners into experiences beyond words, transforming turmoil into inner peace. For more information about Janet, go to www.janetsmithwarfield.com; www.wordsculpturespublishing.com; www.wordsculptures.com.

 

Copyright © 2011 – Janet Smith Warfield. All rights reserved.