Lift up your spirits, with a little spot of soul. By Tijn Touber
We should really be able to start each day anew, I thought as I considered the recent changes to Ode. Why is it so difficult to let go of the past? Why do we cling so stubbornly to things that are over and done, to painful memories or bad experiences? These questions are a theme running through my life and over the years I’ve put them to the wise people I’ve had the privilege of meeting. And in the 10 years I’ve written for Ode I’ve met a number of wise people who’ve given me a number of answers.
In India I met Dadi Janki, a yogini and head of the Brahma Kumaris Spiritual University. I know few people who are as present in the here and now as she. Her secret: Dadi rounds off each day before she begins a new one. Every evening she asks herself how her day was. Did she hurt anyone? Does she need to make amends? Is there something she needs to say or someone she needs to forgive? Before she closes her eyes she makes her amends—sometimes personally and sometimes by sending an apology, thanks or love in her thoughts. When she wakes up in the morning, everything is clean and new. Read more...
The other day an acquaintance dropped by unexpectedly. I had only met Laura recently, but there had been an immediate click. We seemed to have a lot in common. My wife also liked her, so we settled on the couch with some drinks and talked about our lives, to get to know each other better. After a few hours, Laura seemed to feel so relaxed and at home that she shared some of the deep pain that had been troubling her since childhood. She was very reluctant to do so, because she didn't want to impose upon us and certainly didn't want to burden us with her "stuff." She kept apologizing and checking if it was ok to pour her heart out.
We managed to convince her that it was fine. We had all the time in the world, we weren't going anywhere and we liked listening to her. She relaxed and decided to trust us. Over the next hour, the whole story, including all the emotions, poured out. When she left we all felt great. Laura felt great because she wasn't carrying the burden alone anymore. And we felt great because we realized that Laura had given us the greatest gift any human being can possibly give: trust. Read more...
Why do people bother to have all sorts of debates about religion? Why do people try to convince each other that their God is the right God and that their religion is the right one? Why do we try to impose our philosophies about life, death, truth, love, and the Big Questions on each other, when none of us really knows the answers anyway? The only relevant question about any religion or philosophy is not if it is true or not, but if it is effective. If your belief system is not making you happy, if it does not bring peace and love to your heart and to the hearts of those around you, it does not work. And, by the way, if it doesn't work, it can't be true. Read more...
One of the last columns I wrote for Ode was about my notion that God is not a beached whale or a broken bicycle. What I meant to say was that, if we degrade God and turn him into the source of both good and bad, there is no longer any absolute truth and beauty that can act as a standard for our thinking and doing. I like to write about these matters, not because I know the answers or want to impose them on you, dear reader, but because they help me understand these things better and because I get feed back from so many readers around the world. One of them is Cheryl Hamilton, who answers by asking some very profound questions that are worth pondering. Read more...
