The Alchemy of Life; A journey towards wholeness

(An inner path to live in Excellence and die in brilliance)

 “Human being is not merely a drop that merges in the Ocean, but a drop that contains the entire ocean”-Rumi

     A journey towards wholeness is akin to a drop encompassing the entire ocean. Such a person contains the potential to become whole by reaching to the level of perfection yet remains an embodiment of perfect humility. He actualizes his full potential yet every moment of his life is filled with awe and childlike wonder. His imagination is powerful and curiosity has no limits. He lives a life in perfect balance and harmony, independent of people’s praises and unaffected by the severity of events; deeply filled with the sense of purpose and meaning. He is immersed in a state of flow when searching for the true-essence and meaning in life.

       A person living a life of excellence has no place for unwholesome states of mind.  Anger, pride, ignorance, aversion and jealousy succumb to compassion, wisdom, acceptance and gratitude. Integrity and honesty are his unwavering traits. He becomes the “man of the moment," free from the worries of the future and pains of the past. Freedom opens the door to perfection and removes all the obstacles to achieve his or her full potential. At this stage, he is passionate to find life’s true purpose and meaning. It’s a yearning to become whole; a longing that prepares the seeker for an ultimate journey; whether it is a journey to unknown or a final journey back home!
 

How to begin a journey towards the life of brilliance and excellence:

      Living in the conscious awareness of God’s presence is the beginning as well as the end of the journey. The goal is to hush the cacophony of mind and create an accord and harmony by living in the moment. Remember, life only unfolds in the present, in the here and now. Trying to find stillness and silence in mind is the key to freedom and wisdom. This path gradually opens all the doors to brilliance and excellence. Divine gifts of compassion, surrender, acceptance and perfection ultimately come to us one after another.  The frequency of living in the “conscious present” should continue to increase, standing, sitting or lying down. The more time we spend away from our minds, the wiser we become.

 How to live in the present moment:

   The only important moment that can lead us to freedom is the present moment; keeping this goal in mind we can use any of the myriad ways, depending on our personal interest and inclination. Some of the ways are,

·         Establishing a profound relationship with God, fully conscious and available in each moment.

·         Reading scriptures from the holy books and prayers.

·         Practicing religious mantra, glorious names of God as qualities.

·         Spending time in nature (Listen, feel, smell, touch and absorb).

·         Listening to the birds chirping, heart rhythming and wind blowing.

·         Feeling sensations, flow of energy and vigor inside the body.

·          In the moment of stillness be aware with the breathing pattern and or rhythm of the heart.

·         Practicing mindfulness .

·         Learning Yoga, Transcendental meditation, Tai Chi, Qi gong and other art forms.

·         Choosing and practicing personal mantra “peace” “surrender” “Love” “compassion.

 When to begin the journey towards excellence?
 

Work should begin during childhood:

Every child is born in pure essence. As he grows and interacts with his surroundings, his essence begins to veil under the layers of moral and psychological illnesses. Once the pure-essence is buried deep inside, it becomes harder to get to the core of it. Every effort should be made to protect the essence from getting rusted and making the journey towards self-actualization quicker and smoother.

  When we teach our children to live “in the present," practice compassion and exercise benevolence, it helps develop their inner strength and shield the impact of negative events. In other words, just as the “529 Plan” serves as a financial security for a child’s future education; spiritual practices serve as an emotional security against future’s difficult events. By starting the spiritual journey early, we allow our children to build a positive and nourishing environment, develop inner strength and gain wisdom. Being prepared, they are now ready to deal the difficult situations with patience, ease and intelligence.  Another advantage of commencing an early work is the availability of adequate amount of time and energy to work towards the excellence and realization their full-potential in life.

What if we start at a later age?

        The earlier the better, nevertheless it’s important to tread the path at any age. Walking the path at an advanced age will progress our journey in three stages.

Stage 1: Often times it’s harder to accept our deeper wounds and awful flaws. This beginning stage opens the door to accept and acknowledge our big issues and grants us wisdom to reflect and understand them completely. We recognize that moving on is not possible until we completely resolve our issues and make peace with them.
 

 Stage 2: After accepting and understanding our wounds the sacred work of purification begins. This whole process prepares us to forgive and seek forgiveness from people and settle our unfinished businesses; Practice compassion, surrender, acceptance and become wiser for our future accomplishments. At this stage we are able to accept things we have never accepted before.
 

Stage 3: After resolving life’s big issues completely, a journey towards freedom begins; freedom from the fears of losses and fears of criticism and praises. The time has ripened to live a life at full-potential and reach to the highest level of “human-beingness." This is the time to begin the search for life’s big questions; the questions of our true identity, our rightful place and purpose in this vast universe.
 

       At this stage we are curious about the mysteries of life; mysteries in the outer as well as the inner world and learn to decipher and decode the meanings of events around us.  We come across many “ah-ha” moments and acquire the outlook of a grown up person living among children. Now we understand the essence of things we have never understood before. This knowledge brings deep humility and transforms us completely into the state of surrender and acceptance.  At this point we are ready to embrace everything life unfolds.  We are truly prepared to embark on any trip, whether it is a journey to another dimension or a final journey back home!
 

    The alchemy of life is now complete. An ordinary man has become the “Homo universalis”. This Universal man is Rumi’s drop that contains the entire ocean. The time has arrived for a drop to become one with the ocean and reveal itself as the majestic manifestation of the magnificent!