To Eric Ramakrishna, Maa, and Swami -Sal

[Guest guest]

Dear Eric,

 

I am truly, truly blessed that you have taken the time to reply...I

am grateful for your thoughtful compassion....

 

I feel that Grace is the gift internalized only once effort has

ceased. Once you give up the fight, Peace begins to settle over you

like a warm blanket.

 

Life is so much kinder and gentler when one simply surrender and goes

with the flow....knowing that, no matter what, I am a loved child of

the universe and that my soul is eternal and protected. One has

to " know " and trust that this is the Truth. Giving up that control

is " letting go and letting God " is really, REALLY almost terrifying

to accept as truth at first, especially if one has never felt worthy

of being loved, has been vulnerable, or has never felt safe.

 

Now, when the maya (which I have created of course) causes me

vexation, I'll ask God and take my worries and fears from me, and

even though it's kind of a lousy gift, it's all I can give right

now....He always says lovingly and gently, " Okay, I'll take over from

here. You should have asked me in the first place. When are you ever

gonna learn My Dear One! "

 

He usually gives me something very, very beautiful in return. Like a

bird singing on my deck, a butterfly, a hug from my kids or a

student, a new job, a winning lottery ticket to cover the electric

bill...you get the picture! ;-) Through grace one opens oneself to

allow the greater gifts of hope, faith and love. And (hopefully)

lovely infusions of profound gratitude and humility....

 

Sure beats when I was handing over my troubles to a twelve-pack!

Talk about silly!

 

Again, Eric...your kind offering and thoughts touched my

heart...thank you for sharing!

 

peace!

sal.

 

 

 

, " ecjensen_us " <ecjensen_us

wrote:

>

> OM NAMAH SIVAYA

>

> Sal i wanted to to say how i admire your resolve in over coming your

> addiction. many of my attachments have been a slow go even though

i,

> to the best of my ability, exert my will to be rid of them. it

seems

> ultimately it is the Grace of Guru or Divine Mother that determines

> their departure. i think Grace and Effort are interdependent. in

my

> experience anyway most of my attachments quit me, i didn't quit

them.

> i know they are gone only due to Grace. but maybe that is just

me.

>

> your post reminded me of a dvd i saw recently from Deepak Chopra

> entitled God and The Buddha. it was a discussion between Deepak and

> Bob Thurman on the similarities of the philosophies of Vedanta and

> Buddhism. in the dvd Deepak says that Vedanta says all human

> suffering is categorized by the 5 kleshas. i am sure most of you

know

> them but for those who don't according to Deepak they are as

follows;

>

> 1. we don't know the True Nature of Reality.

> 2. we have attachments to things that are temporal, ephemeral, or

> illusionary.

> 3. we have aversion or repulsion that things that or temporal,

> ephemeral, or illusionary.

> 4. we have a some limited view or concept of the self, or another

> words the ego

> 5. fear of Death.

>

> he says it goes on to say that all the 5 kleshas are contained in

the

> first one, we don't know the True Nature of Reality. or maybe it is

> better to say we don't remember.

>

> and then i thought any attachment is not the True Nature of

Reality.

> that the True Nature of Reality is really Love, which is Eternal.

so

> for i have tried to just focus on The True Nature. to do otherwise

> seems analogous with the tail wagging the dog. and while reading

some

> Bahá'í teaching recently i came across this quote from `Abdu'l-Bahá,

> Bahá'u'lláh's eldest son and appointed successor Bahá'í Faith;

>

> " The greatest gift of man is Universal Love—that magnet which

renders

> existence eternal. It attracts realities and diffuses life with

> infinite joy. If this Love penetrates the heart of man, all the

> forces of the universe will be realized in him, for it is a Divine

> power which transports him to a Divine station and he will make

> progress until he is illumined thereby. Strive to increase the

> Love-power of reality, to make your hearts greater centers of

> attraction and to create new ideals and relationships. "

>

> JAI MA

>