The Qualities of a Spiritual Life

Oxygen Volume 11By: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar / Source: Huffington Post

Life is more than matter. If it were just matter, there would be no need for comfort. Matter does not feel comfort or discomfort, beauty or ugliness, love or compassion, joy or sorrow.

Will a chair ever feel sorry or happy? No, matter does not have these finer values. They belong to the realm of the spirit. But life is also more than spirit.

If it were just spirit, there would be no need for water, food, or rest. Human life is a combination of both matter and spirit.

The nature of the spirit

Spirit experiences and expresses values. Values are feelings and emotions — that which cannot be captured totally by words or understood by the intellect.

The goal of the spiritual path is to understand the spiritual dimension of life and live fully all the values that the spirit represents. What are those values? Peace, love, joy, beauty, unlimited knowledge, and the capacity to understand both mind and matter.

Comfort: A quality of consciousness

Whatever one does is directed towards one goal, happiness or comfort. Often people think that comfort comes in a material way, through matter alone. Comfort is a quality of consciousness.

To some degree it does depend on matter, but to a greater degree it depends on attitude and understanding.

The true nature of the spirit is comprehension

You listen, you understand and you absorb. Who is understanding? Who is absorbing? It is the spirit in your body that is taking in the knowledge.

And this knowledge is not coming through sight, sound, smell, taste and touch alone. It is also coming from inside as intuition.

The very nature of consciousness is knowledge

You can say that at every level of consciousness, knowledge is present. And consciousness is present! If it were nothing, it could not be present.

It is something, yet it is not finite. You cannot measure consciousness, so it is present and infinite.

The nature of your consciousness is peace: You are love

Consciousness is peace. You are peace, you are truth, and you are energy, walking, moving, talking, sitting. The “self” is energy and the “self” is knowledge, the knowing and the knower.

This consciousness is love, you are love. Understanding and living this is the spiritual life. Life attains its richest form through the spiritual dimension.

Without it life becomes very shallow and you are unhappy, dependent, depressed and miserable.

The effects of the spiritual dimension on society

This is a great sense of belongingness, responsibility, compassion and caring for the whole of humanity.

The spiritual dimension, in its true form, breaks the narrow boundaries of caste, creed, religion and nationality. Wars will be eliminated only through spiritual understanding.

The spiritual path is not an escape from life

Actually, the spiritual path makes life more difficult! In India people think the spiritual life is easy — go to an ashram where you don’t have to work hard.

No! The spiritual path is not an escape from hard work or sincere action, just as social service is not an escape to a comfortable life. In both situations you have to put your heart and soul into your actions and be ready to give a hundred percent of yourself.

The spiritual life will bring you enormous joy, more contentment, more peace and more energy than you can find, but it’s not an escape.

The spiritual path is not an escape from responsibility

The spiritual path means taking responsibility. If you think it is difficult to manage your children and your spouse, you will be given more people to care for.

If you are ready to take responsibility for 20 people, 2,000 people, 20 million people, then you are on the path. The spiritual path is not an escape from responsibility, but taking responsibility.

The spiritual path is not an escape from hard work

Intelligent, effective work is part of the spiritual life. When you are working hard you may think you deserve compassion. I say that if you are working hard and doing it with intelligence, then you need appreciation, not compassion.

If someone is taking five hours to complete something that can be done in half an hour, it doesn’t need compassion.

Knowing peace

Another aspect of spiritual life is peace — knowing that peace is your nature. At any moment, in any place, you can just sit and let go, knowing that inside you there is a pure clear space that’s vast and deep.

That inner space is what you are. Feeling this is knowing your spiritual dimension. ”I have come from peace, I am in peace, I will go back to peace. Peace is my origin and my goal.”

This inner affirmation or experience makes you a seeker.

A sense of sacredness

Still another aspect of spiritual life is a sense of sacredness. When you have a deep sense of thankfulness combined with regard and respect for everything that comes to you in life, it brings a sense of sacredness.

In sacredness there is awareness. Your mind is fully present in fear, anger or sacredness.

Service and silence

Silence heals and rejuvenates. Silence gives you depth and stability and brings creativity. Service brings the dynamic experience of heart. It creates a sense of belongingness.

Lack of service can land a person in depression. Service alone can bring contentment in life, but service without silence tires you. Service without spirituality will be shallow and cannot be sustained for a long period of time.

The deeper the silence, the more dynamic the outer activity becomes. Both are essential in life.

Have confidence

Have confidence in yourself. One who does not have confidence cannot achieve anything. Confidence clears doubt. Doubt is the opposite of confidence.

Once you eliminate the negative, you will see that the positive has already happened. When doubt clears, confidence appears. So to gain confidence in yourself, you must understand what doubt is.

The nature of doubt

If you observe the nature of doubt, it is always about something that is positive. You doubt the goodness of other people, never their bad qualities.

You doubt your own capabilities, never your incapabilities. On the spiritual path, you learn to handle things with intuition and inner freedom.

I don’t say don’t doubt. I say doubt as much as you can. That will help you get through it before progressing further.

Mindful Breathing a Great Tool for Realizing Your Mind and Body Connection

breathingBy: Anthony Gucciardi / Source: Wake Up World

While seldom consciously recognized, most people truly do lack self-connectedness. This can be exemplified through a mere observation of how most people breath every day.

Breaths are usually taken in short bouts which ultimately bring about some degree of stress, rather than deeper breaths that are subsequently more relaxing.

These short breaths are almost always taken with a breath through the chest instead of the proper body area – your stomach.

Improper breathing is almost always done unknowingly, but it may be time for you to realize the benefits of proper breathing and start consciously changing the way you breath until you unconsciously start breathing like an expert.

Mindful Breathing a Great Tool for Achieving Your Mind/Body Connection

Breathing is not just a method of survival, and is one of the few things that many people they have control over. To breath incorrectly is like consuming just enough vitamins and nutrients to stay alive.

This minimum requirement will enable you to survive, but not thrive. You may find it easier to practice deep breathing by placing the proper ‘intention’ on every breath.

Think of each new breath is fresh and cleansing, which will ultimately lead to vibrancy and excitement. To breath out means ridding your body of the old and toxic.

With each fresh breath should come a sense of calming and connectedness. Breathing synchronizes your mind and body, making it a great tool for achieving optimum health.

By putting a focus on each breath into a sore part of your body you can alleviate that pain. Partaking in healing breaths can be especially useful when receiving a massage for a sore part of the body.

Deep breathing techniques are also one ingredient that make up the benefits of meditation. With each inhale and exhale you may experience greater awareness and feel more centered.

You will withdraw yourself from the stresses the world is seemingly placing upon you, and a sense of peace will take over. Placing a focus on breathing is also a fantastic way to fall asleep at night.

People’s minds often fail to shut down, even when trying to sleep. There are usually so many things going on and so many worries that falling asleep could take hours.

If you use breathing as a technique to sleep by counting your breaths, all of your focus, all of your thoughts will be redirected to keeping count of each exhale. This focus will enable you to shut down, and will pave a smooth road to a deep sleep.

Make this conscious change, and soon your life will become that much easier, unconsciously.

Top 10 Significant Numbers in Biblical Numerology

golgothaBy: Flame Horse / Source: List Verse

Biblia Sacra – the Holy Bible – is the most widely read book in the world. It is a source of inspiration to many and – more curiously – a source of divination and secret codes.

This list looks at ten significant numbers in the Bible – numbers that pop up time and again. Many people take this with a grain of salt but many others consider it to be very important and believe that the study of these numbers can unlock knowledge of the future. Interesting.

10. ONE

No surprise, but 1 is obviously used throughout the Bible to indicate one thing only, God Himself. “The one true God.” The number 1 Commandment is “Thou shalt have no other gods besides me.” Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

This was to remind the Jews of the time not to worship multiple gods like all those civilizations around them. 1 is enough. Numerology seems to be more than just coincidence when we consider the chapter and verse, 6:4. 6 plus 4 equals 10 (see #5).

Just as God is 1, so Satan is 1 single entity by himself until the last book. Whenever someone is alone in the wilderness, whether it is Moses, or Elijah, or Jesus, they are not really alone, but are, in fact, never closer to the one, true God than at that moment.

Jesus is abandoned in the end and left all alone, and he says as much to his Disciples, then reminds them that he will not be alone, but the Father will be with him.

9. TWENTY-TWO

The Bible employs 22 in a more arithmetical manner than most numbers. Consider the perfect shape to be a circle. 22 divided by 7 is a good approximation of pi, which is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.

From the first epistle, Romans, to the end is 22 books. This ties in with what is known as the Canon Wheel. The Bible may be divided into three sections of 22 books each (though only in Protestant Bibles as they removed seven books from their Canon).

The first is comprised of Genesis to the Song of Solomon, the second from Isaiah to Acts, and the third from Romans to Revelation. The first may be thought of as representative of the Father, the second of the Son, and the third of the Spirit.

There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Revelation ends the whole Bible on a 22nd chapter. If the patriarchs’ ages, as given in the Bible, are added up, then Abraham’s birth year was 2167 BC. From then to the death year of Jesus, 33 AD, is 2200 years precisely.

Jesus quotes the opening of Psalm 22 while in agony on the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The chronology of men from Adam to Jacob totals 22 names. Jeroboam reigned for 22 years.

8. FORTY

The Bible uses 40 to denote completion or fulfillment. It is used 146 times throughout both Testaments. It is the traditional Hebrew number for the duration of a trial of any kind, when times are hard and a person’s faith is tested.

The Israelites slaved in hard bondage under the Egyptian pharaohs for 400 years, 10 times 40. God forced them to wander in the Wilderness of Sin, throughout the Sinai Peninsula, for 40 years as punishment for their “stiff-necked unbelief.”

“Sin,” here, does not denote sinfulness, but the Hebrew word for the Sumerian moon god, from which “Sinai” is derived. Moses was 40 years times 3 when he died, at 120.

Moses was 40 days on Mount Sinai receiving God’s Law, another 40 days on the mountain after the golden calf sin. Elijah, some 300 years later, spent 40 days on the same mountain worshiping God.

There are tons of references to “40 days and 40 nights” throughout the Bible. The most notable are the 40 days and nights of rainfall that caused the Flood of Noah.

During this time, the whole world flooded to a depth of some 15 feet above the tallest mountains. It took 375 days for the water to recede.

Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness before being tempted by Satan. Jesus remained on Earth for 40 days after his Resurrection, appearing to the Apostles and teaching them, before ascending to Heaven.

At the time of his Ascension, there were about 120 Christians on Earth, or 40 times 3.

It was about 40 years from Jesus’ Ascension to the destruction of Jerusalem, in 70 AD, by the Romans.

In the original Koine Greek, as recorded in the Codices Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, the oldest complete manuscripts of the New Testament (c. 200-250 AD), Jesus utters the word “fulfill” in some variation or other, precisely 40 times throughout the Gospels.

7. TWELVE

12 is used in a similar way to 3, 10, and 40. It indicates a kind of totality.

The most obvious example of 12 are the 12 tribes of Israel, mentioned many times throughout the Bible. Revelation incorporates multiple uses of 12.

After the Tribulation begins, Christians will have already been Raptured to Heaven to spare them the horrors. 144,000 people, 12,000 from each tribe of Israel, will be converted to Christianity and die as martyrs under the reign of the Antichrist.

The New Jerusalem, the city of Heaven, is described as having walls 144 cubits thick, symbolic of the 12 tribes and the 12 Apostles.

The foundations of the walls are made of 12 precious stones. The city is foursquare, with walls 12,000 stadia, or furlongs, long, wide, and high. Stadia and furlongs are not the same length, but are close.

The former equates to about 1,400 miles, the latter to about 1,500 miles. There are 3 gates in each side, for 12 total. These are made of single pearls, giving us the phrase “pearly gates.” Inside, the Tree of Life yields 12 different kinds of fruits.

Daniel is also concerned with the time of the end, and Daniel has 12 chapters. Daniel 12:12 states, “Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.” 1 plus 3 plus 3 plus 5 equals 12.

When Jesus feeds the 5,000, his Disciples pick up 12 basketfuls of leftovers afterward.

6. FOUR

12 has much in common with 4, 3, and 10. They all indicate completion of some sort.

Of the 12 tribes of Israel, Jesus’ lineage is traced back to Judah, the fourth tribe. There are 4 major writing prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.

There are 12 minor writing prophets (see #7), or 4 times 3: thus three different ways to indicate the totality of the Old Testament’s prophecies.

There are 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse.

There are 4 angels standing ready at the 4 corners of Earth.There are 4 Gospels, 4 living beasts in Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation. T

here are 4 points of the Cross, which is more significant than you might think, since the typical cross of the time was either a single, vertical pole, called a crux simplex, or a Tau cross, named after the capital Greek T. The lowercase “t” was unnecessary unless something needed to be added above the head of the condemned, and such placards were only needed for the executions of celebrated people.

5. TEN

The instances in which 10 shows up are too numerous to list. Aside from the Ten Commandments, there are a total of 603 other commandments, for a total of 613. 6 plus 1 plus 3 equals 10. 10 is a psychologically satisfying number.

We don’t care as much for top 9 lists as we do for top 10 lists. We have 10 appendages on the ends of our hands and feet. So it is natural for 10 to be an important number throughout the Bible. It indicates completion, just as 4, 12, 3, and 40.

Noah was the 10th patriarch before the Flood.

John 3:16 is the thesis of the entire Bible. It is the mirror image of the number of laws in the Old Testament, and thus, its digits add up to 10. God promises not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if only 10 righteous people can be found in them.

Jesus performed a total of 37 miracles across the Gospels. 3 plus 7 equals 10. In the original Greek, he says some variation of the word “fulfill” 10 times in each Gospel. He quotes Deuteronomy more than any other book of the Old Testament, 46 times. 4 plus 6 equals 10.

4. SIX

The Bible uses the number 6 to indicate imperfection. The work week is 6 days long, but it is missing something until God decides to set aside another day, on which no work is to be done, but rest must be taken in honor of God resting from his great work.

The most well known number in the Bible is, of course, 666, which symbolizes the Unholy Trinity. Satan is alone (see #10) until the events of the Revelation.

He is the antithesis of the Holy Spirit, not God, for it is Satan’s spirit that control the two beasts. One is the Antichrist, who is the antithesis of God, and the other is the False Prophet, the antithesis of Jesus.

As each of these entities is imperfect, it is represented by the number 6, whereas the Holy Trinity is 777. It is interesting to note there are 66 books in the King James Bible, as though it may be incomplete.

3. THREE

3 is the number of the Trinity, of course, and thus, indicates a wholeness, but it also seems to indicate an inner sanctity. Of Jesus’ 12 Apostles, he loves 3 of them more than the rest.

They are Peter, and brothers John and James. It is understood that because they had strong faith in Jesus, he liked them more than the other 9.

They were allowed to witness his Transfiguration, another example of 3: he suddenly stood talking in bright white clothing with Moses and Elijah.

Samuel is called by the Lord 3 times before he realizes it and answers. Satan tempts Jesus 3 times before giving up. It is on the third day of creation that Earth is made.

The placard on the Cross is written in 3 languages. Jesus raised 3 people from the dead, Lazarus, a widow’s son, and the daughter of a man named Jairus.

Though the Bible does not say how many lashes Jesus suffered, the Law of Moses required 40 minus 1. 40 was deemed sufficient to kill a man (see #8), so 1 lash was subtracted.

3 plus 9 equals 12 (see #7); 3 times 9 equals 27 (see next entry). 3 squared is 9. 39 is also the number of books in the Old Testament.

There are 3 angels named in the Bible: Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer. Jesus was about 33 when he died. He was set up on the cross at the third hour of the day, and lasted until the ninth.

He rose from the dead on the third day, just as Jonah was in the belly of a great fish 3 days. Jesus fell under the cross 3 times on the Via Dolorosa.

2. SEVEN

The Bible uses 7 to indicate perfection, and 7 and 14 are inseparable throughout it. God is said in Revelation to have 7 Spirits, depicted as 7 lamp stands. The 7 candelabra (menorah) set on the Tabernacle in Exodus and Deuteronomy are an homage to God’s “sevenfold Spirit.”

Noah led the clean animals into the ark in sets of 7 pairs for each species. The unclean animals were saved to the tune of one pair each. Joshua led the Israelites, with the Ark, 7 times around Jericho.

“John the Baptist” is how Matthew first refers to the man generally understood to be the last of the Old Testament prophets, who preaches according to the Law of Moses and predicts the coming of the Messiah. “John the Baptist” has 14 letters, which is twice 7. “Jesus the Christ” has 14 letters.

The 4 living beasts, which Ezekiel identifies as Cherubim, are mentioned 3 times in the Bible (see #6). 4 plus 3 equals 7. Ezekiels sees 4 wings and 4 faces on each beast. 4 times 4 times 4 equals 64, and the beasts are introduced in Revelation at chapter 4, verse 6, 64 reversed. Revelation depicts the beasts as having 6 wings each. 6 plus 4 equals 10 (see #5).

Revelation is written and sent to the 7 major churches of Asia minor. The Tribulation will last 7 years.

When Jesus feeds the 4,000, his Disciples pick up 7 basketfuls afterward. He feeds this multitude with 7 loaves of bread, plus some fish. He feeds the 5,000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish. Jesus teaches with a total of 37 parables.

Although it may seem quite contrived, it is not to consider that Jesus is popularly thought to have suffered 5 wounds on the Cross: two nails in his hands, one in his feet, the crown of thorns, and the spear in his side; whereas, he can be more properly thought of as suffering 7 wounds: both hands, the thorns, the spear, the flogging itself, and both feet.

The feet were nailed apart to the sides of the cross, through the heel bones, since the bones would support the weight of the victim on the nails. A single nail through the top of the feet will not.

There are 31,102 verses in the King James Bible. 3 plus 1 plus 1 plus 2 equals 7. There are not 777,777 words in the King James Bible (wouldn’t that be astounding?), but it’s close, at 774,746. There are three 7s, and the rest adds up to 14. 774 minus 746 equals 28, which is 7 times 4.

What verse sits precisely at the middle of the Bible? Since there is an even number, there are two middle verses. They are Psalm 103: 1 and 2, the same digits as in the total number of verses.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” These two verses have a total of 28 words, 7 times 4.

The precise center of this passage is the four-word phrase, “Bless his holy name.” Excising this leaves 24 words, which is twice 12 (see #7). The two verses effectively mirror each other.

The first sentence of the first verse of the Old Testament, in the original Hebrew, has 7 words. The first sentence of the first verse of the Gospel of Mark, which was the first to be written, has 7 words. There are 7,957 verses in the New Testament. 7 plus 9 plus 5 plus 7 equals 28, or four 7s.

1. TWENTY-ONE

Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming of the Messiah becomes explicit at Chapter 7, verse 14, “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son.” 14 is twice 7, and the two add up to 21.

There are 14 generations from Abraham to david, 14 from David to the Baylonian exile of the Jews, and 14 from there to Jesus. These generations are divined thrice, thus 3 sets of 14, or 42, twice 21.

There are 21 chapters in the Gospel of John. There are three epistles of John, with 5, 1, and 1 chapters respectively. 5 plus 1 plus 1 equals 7, times 3 epistles equals 21.

In the Revelation, believed by many to have been written by the same John, there are 3 dispensations of God’s wrath, first 7 seals, then 7 trumpets, then 7 bowls of wrath. 7 times 3 equals 21.

“God” or “Lord” appear in the King James Bible a total of 10,875 times. 1 plus 8 plus 7 plus 5 equals 21, or 7 times 3.

There are 22 chapters in Revelation (see # 9), and the last chapter contains no violence of any kind. It is the absolute final aftermath of everything, depicting solely the perfection of life in the New Jerusalem, Heaven on Earth, with God and Jesus reigning on thrones in the center of the city, where death and pain no longer, and never again, exist.

Thus, the 21 chapters preceding this can be seen as the totality of God’s judgment against the wicked, and punishment and destruction of evil, followed by the number 1, a single chapter all on its own, “a new beginning.”

The 22nd chapter ends on the 21st verse, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” 2 plus 2 plus 2 plus 1 equals 7 (see #2).

+ FORTY-SIX

Just for fun, there is a theory that William Shakespeare helped translate parts of the King James Bible. It is not known if he was fluent in Hebrew, but his plays showcase various Latin, Greek, and French phrases.

The Baconian Theory that Shakespeare did not actually write his works centers on the premise that he is known to have had only a grammar school education, and would not have been so multilingual, or philosophical. This is, of course, a patently false analogy.

Either way, Shakespeare’s absence from the lists of official translators and scholars seems glaring in light of his literary stature and the fact that the King James

Bible was published in 1611, at the very pinnacle of his genius. Hamlet was published some time around 1602-03, King Lear in 1605-06, Macbeth in 1606, Cymbeline and The Tempest in 1610-1611.

In 1610, when the King James translation teams were working on the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek source texts, Shakespeare was 46 years old. It is believed he personally translated Psalm 46, perhaps at the behest of King James or the translators, out of respect for Shakespeare’s poetic brilliance.

The 46th word of Psalm 46 is “shake.” The 47th word up from the bottom is “spear,” possibly indicating that Shakespeare would turn 47 by the time the King James Bible was finished.

Power up your intuition with blue stones

blue stonesBy: Carol Nicholson / Source: Natural Healing News

Intuition is something we use every single day. Intuition could be random thoughts or certain feelings that come out of nowhere and give us important messages.

There is nothing mystical about intuition; nor does it require years of intense study to tap into. Quite to the contrary, our intuition is a natural and vital part of our human makeup.

To help us access our intuitive selves, the use of indigo or deep-blue colored stones will aid in stimulating subtle perceptual energies and thoughts.

Deep blue is a color that helps calm and focus the mind. Some color therapists attribute this to our human conditioning; when the sun goes down and the deep blue of night sets in, our bodies know it’s time to rest and relax.

Our brain waves automatically slow down, and we become more attuned to subtle energies.

Nighttime is often when inspirational flashes and solutions to problems occur naturally. Many creative thinkers and writers do their best work in the late evening hours.

Finding the right stone may take a little footwork. Any indigo crystal or stone will work equally well. Kyanite is a blue variety of the mineral disthene that appears as shafts of thin blade crystals while sodalite and lapis lazuli can help you regain a state of receptive awareness.

Other good candidates are sapphire, aquamarine, azurite-malachite, indicolite and blue-lace agate. You may even know about some deep blue crystals not mentioned here.

Just make sure the primary color is a very deep hue of blue. It is important to note, however, that it is not recommended to use deep blue stones when you are low or in a depressed mood.

Wait until you are feeling better, as the color could exaggerate the condition. Try substituting a warmer colored crystal during these times, instead.

When searching for your crystals or stones, you will find yourself naturally attracted to certain ones. This is your intuition pointing you toward the right choice for you.

In most places, it is permissible to pick up and hold a stone or crystal to see how it feels. Some crystals and stones can be purchased to wear as pendants or comfortable shapes to carry about in your pocket.

Many people hold their stones and crystals while meditating. A single small crystal cluster for your desk or workspace will do wonders for your creativity and decision-making processes. Co-workers may become intrigued and want to run out and get their very own stones.

Many shops that sell crystals are located around the metro Phoenix area, as well as in Sedona and Quartzite. It might even make a fun day trip to go looking.

After purchasing your crystals, it’s always a good idea to cleanse them before use by washing in warm soapy water or placing them in sea salt for about 24 hours. Ask the shop owner or seller how to care for your crystals — and enjoy their many benefits.