Clare Rosenfield
Try writing down anything which bothers you, anything, which you do not want, in a proper sentence on a blackboard in your mind. Then write down the positive things that you do want on a whiteboard. Start erasing the blackboard items one by one, and then place your full attention on what you want. Using this method of visualizing, you will be able to change the focus of your consciousness completely.
When you are clear about what you want, you will not be tempted by that which you do not need. When you know yourself, you will know your quest. When you know your quest, you will know others' quest. Without knowing yourself, you won't be able to know others.
From ‘To Light One Candle’:
jay am chare jay am chitthe
jay am ase jay am sa-e
jay am bhunjanto bhasanto
pavam kammam na bandha-i
When you walk, walk with awareness.
When you stand,
be mindful that your are standing.
When you sit, know what you are doing.
When you sleep, remain aware.
When you speak and eat,
do not commit any harm
to any living being.
In this way, you will stop inviting
painful consequences and will no longer
create cycles of karmic bondage for yourself.
Once a European woman came to India. She loved a certain flower and wherever she went she brought the seeds of that flower with her. She would say, "I stayed with you two or three days, now I would like to plant my favourite flower in your house." And the people would bring a pot, some soil, a little water, and she would plant the seeds. In Madras, Bombay, Bangalore, in each house where she stayed, these plants flourish and the flowers are blossoming. It is a simple message: "What you love, you share. Let your smile and fragrance remind others of your presence."
So take a little time and in the silence uncover your quest. When your are calm and quiet, you get in touch with your innate light and fragrance of amity and from that your mind will acquire the power of your positive vibrations to determine your life in that direction. Sharing with others what you have to share, you neither take time for self-pity nor rush into the corner in search of personal salvation.
Connected to that changeless beneath all the changes, you will be connected to that changeless in everyone. Seeing your real "I", you will see the whole world as "I". Dare to invest yourself in the world and see what happens - you receive your Larger Self in return. Dare to commune - through compassion, cooperation, and communication - and continually you will rediscover your place in the universe....
For Contemplation:
"The theme of meditation is this: to reach that root where fear does not exist and where vibrant life is always felt. This is what we mean by immortality. This is called relating to ourselves."
"As man becomes increasingly aware of his intrinsic quality and of his capacity for spiritual growth, soul becomes master, using matter in a creative way for his help rather than allowing matter to dominate. When soul ascends to its natural state, it floats like a lotus on the surface of a lake - using the body for a purpose: to carry conscious energy to fruition and fulfillment."
"The whole universe is helping us survive and evolve. When we realize that without universal help we cannot live a single day, something in us (pudgala: matter) lets go and melts. We cannot stop the progressive process by withholding ourselves. We flow in a reciprocal way with the universe as we see each microcosm receiving help from macrocosm toward our movement of freedom.
"First find out what is your unique dream, with what you will be happy. Then ask yourself, 'Do I share with the world what I need and want for myself?' No one is either dependent or independent, but all are interdependent in a spiritually evolving world."
"There is no past which determines our future. Karmas built by living life have the capacity to be evaporated or transmuted by living vibrations. Who is compelling you to carry those vibrations, which you do not want? No one but you. You have not removed attachments and so you have not yet exerted your energy to shed them. When you realize 'Who am I?' and T can do it,' you are working with soul's dynamic power. You stop wasting your time on blaming others and take responsibility for your life.