Ancharyadeva's Post

I'm cooling my heals in the Dubai airport waiting for my connection to India. Safari automatically started showing the fonts in Arabic so not sure how to change that. Tried several options and thought I will be adventurous and try doing my work with Arabic fonts . . . :-)

I received this post from one of my good friend Acharyadeva (aka Hridayananda Das Goswami) and his take on Occupy Wall Street.

Anything is better than what has been, till now, the dull, mindless inert non-response to America's, and the world's, sickening drift into crass, consumerist plutocracy. The spectacular corrupting of the US government, which now seems to be an amoral gang of political streetwalkers for hire, makes popular action, at the level of the normal people, extremely necessary. Hopefully, the essential conversation regarding how to improve society, cultivate virtue and create the best possible life for people, will now resume. Our thanks to Shireen for doing her part to facilitate and encourage what is hopefully a real awakening. With best wishes, Hridayananda das Goswami

The Slave and the Master

This post is in response to The Call to Action by OccupyWallSt. I’m especially commenting on item no. 5, which states:

“If you agree that state and corporation are merely two sides of the same oppressive power structure, if you realize how media distorts things to preserve it, how it pits the people against the people to remain in power, then you might be one of us.”

Though I completely agree with the above statement, we are just looking at the external power structure of state, corporations, and media and ignoring the other side of the coin. The other side of the coin is an internal power structure.

There is an internal power structure that is latent and waiting to express itself within all of us. This internal power has nothing to do with who does (state and corporations) something or says (media) something it has completely to do with our own thoughts – which are entirely within our control. If I don’t become aware of my inner power then I become a slave – both an inner slave and a slave to external forces. My inner power reflects what happens externally.

It is perfectly understandable that people are fed up and want to change the system. However too many revolutions have gone awry, almost all of them in fact, so how do we make this a real change for the better? This can only happen if we ground ourselves in becoming a spiritual master as opposed to an inner slave.

When I say inner slave, I mean being completely controlled by my mind, by my thoughts, my feelings, my past, and worries about my future. Are you wondering why I’m talking about thoughts? Well, if you think about it, thoughts are the basis of everything. Everything starts with a thought. For example, if I want to go from here to Japan, I can reach there in a second with my thoughts, or I can experience closeness to any person by just thinking of them, or I can experience again the feeling of having eaten something by just thinking of it etc. etc.

What happens when I’m a slave to my thoughts? I become confused, I’m unable to make good decisions, I become upset easily, and/or I don’t experience the joy of life.

The mindset of a slave (this is being a slave to my thoughts – an inner slave):

1. Plays the blame game. If I’m confused or not happy, I blame external factors for it. I’m always looking to change external things to gain inner peace and happiness.
2. Thinks that he/she is always right and the other is wrong. In a differences of opinion with someone thinks that their point of view is right.
3. Is clever at giving excuses. I’m not able to be happy because of my crummy job, I’m angry because my relationship is toxic etc. . . This is not to say I shouldn’t change external things, but that is not the only thing I have to change.
4. Laziness or procrastination is also part of the slave mindset. I put off doing something . . . Does not usually feel like doing anything . . .

The mindset of a master (a spiritual master):

1. Is aware of what is happening in his/her mind as the shenanigans of their own thoughts. If I’m thinking something then I’m the creator of those thoughts and hence feelings so I’m responsible for changing them.
2. Takes responsibility for what is happening within them and to them.
3. Thinks about justice but, first starts with his/her own thoughts, checks his/her thoughts . . .
4. Has the power to control his/her own thoughts. Has the power to control the speed at which they think.
5. Has the ability to change confused, negative thinking into powerful thinking.

If we have control over our thoughts, then we can make intelligent effort for the right reason, and with the greatest effect. I completely support the OWS movement, but, we all do need to look at our internal power structure and take steps to change that too. What transpires in the external power structure is connected to our inner power. Protesting and taking action to reform the external has to be rooted in inner work. Inner power is the seed and our thoughts are like the soil in which the tree of benevolent external power can grow. Both are important for deep sustainable change. All this requires is awareness of my thoughts and to seize my thoughts. Carpe diem!

Be well my fellow human beings,

Shireen

Our Common Enemy . . .

In a recent column James Stewart in The New York Times wrote an article titled “A Golden Touch Turns Leaden”

• “No wonder Occupy Wall Street took its protest this week to East 86th Street and the 28,500-square-foot limestone mansion owned by the billionaire hedge fund manager John A. Paulson. What better symbol of the excesses of Wall Street than Mr. Paulson, who made billions betting on the real estate collapse and whose opulent surroundings stand in such contrast to the million of Americans who have lost their homes?”

I have a slight objection to demonizing one person like #OWS did. Though I really liked the article James Stewart wrote, still, we are not taking into consideration our own complicity in this financial mess.

• “Mr. Paulson made more than $15 billion for his hedge funds by betting on the collapse of the mortgage-backed securities market in 2007 and 2008 . . . The media branded him the man with the Midas touch. Institutional and individual investors rushed to give him their money, eagerly paying management fees of 2 percent plus 20 percent of any gains, and pushed his funds’ assets earlier this year to $38 billion . . .”

Investors did rush to give him their money. I feel it is our collective hunger for wanting more, more of money, more of stuff, more of relationships, more of . . . that the system exploits. The system is rigged to exploit our greed. If I don't have greed then there is nothing for it to exploit.

• “That isn’t to say Mr. Paulson did anything illegal. He wasn’t charged by the S.E.C. or accused of any wrongdoing, and it’s hard to fault him for taking advantage of a perk Goldman offered him. Others did it too; JPMorgan Chase recently settled similar charges, suggesting the practice was widespread. But Mr. Paulson’s was the first and most visible case, and fairly or not, it indelibly linked his name to what the S.E.C. labeled fraud . . .”
• “He helped select the mortgages he was betting against, the ones most likely to default, something Goldman failed to tell the party on the other side of the bet. This wasn’t a level playing field, which contributed to the protesters’ allegations that Wall Street is a game rigged to benefit the wealthy and powerful . . .”

The system is so corrupt that it is quite amazing that something like this is not illegal! Way to go #OWS. Our focus should be big money and big business that have completely bought our lives lock stock and barrel.

• “What’s surprising isn’t that Mr. Paulson’s returns have crashed to earth, or even that his reasoning this year has so far proved so spectacularly and consistently wrong. It’s that in lionizing Mr. Paulson and handing their money over to him, so many people succumbed to the enduring myth of the financial genius . . .”

We are the ones we have been waiting for . . . In trusting hedge fund managers to make money for us we are both lionizing their capabilities and demonizing them for taking advantage of it. The common enemy of both of us is really greed. Let’s say there is a universal pot of greed that has been filled and is overflowing and we are finding it untenable because I have woken up and realized I'm a slave. And, yes, let’s say 75% of the universal pot of greed is filled by corrupt Wall Street practitioners and big business. We do have to take responsibility for filling the rest of the 25%. Unless we take responsibility and do our part in not succumbing to our individual pennies of greed we put in the pot then the pot will never really become empty. I have to respond to the challenges of the times by removing my penny from the pot and looking honestly within myself and seeing how is it that I can eliminate greed from my life. This is in addition to the external protests. We have to do both internal and external work for things to pan out in a more sustainable manner. If we don’t honestly acknowledge our culpability in the whole pot brimming over we are playing the blame game and becoming a slave without owning our spiritual power.

In my next post, I will write more about the slave and the master. Thanks for reading.

Blessings,

Shireen

Grace in Motion - A Meditation while Protesting

Meditation and spiritual study gives rise to deep changes within the self . . .

In silence and introversion I become aware of my inner life.

Within this landscape of my inner life I become aware of a transcendent reality . . .

I become more open to a holistic wisdom, and am able to nourish my compassion for humanity.

When I ground myself in this power of peace I am able to face the challenges of these times with grace . . .

I am able to serve more thoughtfully, more effectively, and above all witness grace in action.

Welcome!

This blog is to show my solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Together protests. I feel the Occupy Wall Street movement has spiritual dimensions. It's about waking up, reclaiming power, taking action, and facing the challenges of our times with awareness and compassion for humanity. This blog will explore all of the spiritual dimensions of the Occupy Wall Street protests. Also, I invite everyone along with me to donate pure vibrations of peace, power, clarity, and wisdom to support all those who are dedicating their time to dismantling the energy of greed. I will dedicate 10 minutes of my meditation time everyday to do this subtle service (which I call Mansa Seva or serving through the mind). Do join me and let’s have fun together.