Showing posts with label Reincarnation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reincarnation. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Listening to Our Intuition

Making big decisions can be hard. The thought of change, or rather the fear of change, can grip us in its ugly grasp holding us back and keeping us locked into a cycle of unending perpetuation. 


But sometimes, the feelings we get are not that of fear, but rather it is our intuition speaking to us, warning us, or telling us that it is not the right timing for change.


People have often asked me, "What is intuition?" Some wonder if it is some psychic mumbo-jumbo talk that has no bearing. 


Intuition is the Divine Connection which we all carry within us. It is locked deep within our souls, and it is our direct communication to Spirit. 

Many religions and spiritual paths teach us that when we are born, a veil is cast over our memories of previous lives or previous LIFE beyond this earthly realm. While this is true, the one thing that can not be covered, and the one thing that continues on is that part of our Divine Connection which speaks to us directly, guiding us and teaching us continually. It is the part of us that brings us comfort and solace in knowing when things are going to be OK, or warns us when we need to stop and make a detour. This is called our Intuition.



How can we detect the difference between feelings of earth-bound fear and warnings from intuition? 


When we feel conflicted and scared to move forward, it is important to listen to your "reaction" and your feelings. Investigate where the feelings are coming from. Ask yourself what it is that you are afraid of? What are the solid fears that you have in making the decision? Is it validated? Is it concrete? Is it tangible?  If you can decipher the fears that you have, and you can rationalize solutions to those fears, in other words come up with answers that are non-biased, or that cause more confusion and more fears to arise, they are more than likely simple earth-grounding fears. 


However, once you have answered your questions, you have found your solutions, but you continue to feel uneasy, even anxious, revisit the notion that the feelings you are having are intuitive and therefore a message for you to be aware of.


Sometimes, our intuitive red warning flags will simply direct us to a different path to get to the same goal. Sometimes, they are a message to halt or that the timing is not quite right for this change. 


Some time ago, my husband and I were approached with an opportunity that would be an answer to prayers we had both been seeking. The opportunity seemed solid, the individual who presented the opportunity was more than solid, they were a friend whose word we took as bond. 


At the time, I suddenly felt sick with anxiety. I tried to interpret those feelings as simple nerves of excitement, but instinctively I knew better. I did not want to listen, especially because my husband was truly overjoyed. Instead of listening to my "gut" as I knew I should, I forged and created my own thought pattern to match that of my husband and tried to align myself with the opportunity. 


I began to think in manner of manifesting the things that I wanted as outcome from the opportunity. As I began to grow physically sick from anxiety, I lied to myself and made myself believe that I was excited, to "ride the wave" of excitement. Any "bad" or "negative" or "adverse" thoughts that popped in to my head, I dismissed and recreated this idea of everything being as it should be, and the wonderful outcome that we would enjoy.


As time progressed, I began to see other "signs" about the person we considered a friend, wording used, avoidance of the subject, acting like a "spin doctor" and re-directing focus away from the subject. Finally, this person admitted that they felt that the opportunity may be a scam, but to continue holding out because there was still a chance that it might not be. 


In our desperation and deepest desire, and not wanting to believe that this person we had embraced as a friend would steer us wrong, while every sense inside of us was screaming otherwise, we proceeded along. 


Finally, we could not ignore and blatantly cast aside our doubts any longer and chose to pull away from the opportunity. The friend we thought we had, suddenly turned, and became the dark being that I had seen for some time in small glimpses here and there, but never fully showing themselves. While it was upsetting that the darkness of this individual became apparent, it was not shocking or disbelieving. It had already been told to me long ago, but I chose to ignore it.


Sometimes, we allow our human compassion and kindness to over-compensate for the truth of what is being presented. When these situations arise, we can shrivel up inside and disconnect ourselves from the world, from our environment, and from our Selves. We can turn the experience into a bitter resentment that will only fester. If we truly do not allow ourselves to learn from each experience, to come full circle to find forgiveness and release to be able to move forward, we can easily become lost.


Our intuition is a guide. It is not a metaphor nor is it mumbo jumbo. We have all felt it at some point in our lives. Most often, we choose to ignore that "gut" instinct and then when things turn adverse, we find fault outside our realm of individuality rather than accepting the responsibility, and embracing it as a lesson in learning, and lesson in growth. 


The more we embrace these opportunities in learning, rather than fearing them, the faster we can move past them and grow out of them.


When we begin to hold on to the fear, the blame, and finger-pointing, the more these opportunities for growth and learning will present themselves and we become locked in a cycle, becoming a perpetual victim.


Our intuitions guide us. Stop the chaotic activity and take time to go into complete silence and listen. 


Feel out what is being taught, what is being warned, what is being directed. Take your time. This is a life-long journey in learning. 


There will be times when we falter, that is perfectly OK as long as we understand that we can still pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and move forward. 


When we remove the earth-bound need for turning attention away from ourselves and finding "blame", and the more we become introspective in our learning of situations, simply accepting them, giving gratitude for the experience of learning, being ready to forgive and/or apologise, the easier it will be for us to release, let go, and move on.


~ Namaste ~
_/|\_




©Leyla Hur
All Rights Reserved. Copying, altering, displaying or redistribution of this material without written permission from the author is strictly prohibited.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Sai Baba and Me

"Love all, serve all; help ever, hurt never." 
~ Sathya Sai Baba


On Easter Sunday morning, many around the world woke up to the joy of  the knowledge of the Resurrection of their Lord and Saviour. Many around the world got dressed in their finest clothes to attend services in their
Sathya Sai Baba
local churches celebrating the life and the works of Jesus the Christ. It was a day of celebration, it was a day of renewal, a day of life, and a day of rebirth.

During this same time, many people around the world awoke to the sad news that their beloved Swami Sathya Sai Baba had passed from this incarnation in India.

It was news that saddened me also. And it was me who would have to break this news to my already grieving mother.

Sai Baba has featured largely in my life  for my entire life. My mother became a devotee of his back in the 1970s when I was still a little girl. I have memories of Thursday evening bhajan's (type of Indian devotional song) at the Sai Center in Tsim Sha Tsui (Hong Kong), a tiny apartment with all the bedroom walls knocked out to make a "hall" of types where we sat, women on one side of the room, and men on the other, singing, chanting, meditating, clapping, laughing, and "feeling".

I remember afterwards receiving little candies that Baba had materialized and someone had brought back from a recent trip to his Ashram in Puttaparthi, or other little sweet delights that just brought a delightful end to a meaningful prayer session.

It was a life in which I grew up, and it fit in perfectly with every other aspect of my life.

Sai Baba's photos were found throughout our home, to the degree that sometimes I'd bring a new friend home, and they would ask if he was my father!

Sai Baba's teachings were not of religion, or which religion was "right" and which was "wrong" as so often we encounter within the bonds of religion. His was a teaching of peace, of love, of acceptance of all human beings regardless of colour, religion, society status, sexual orientation, it was not about the mundane things of the world that so many of us hold to, it was higher, deeper, elevated. He taught that he was God as we are all God; "I am God. You too are God. The only difference between you and me is that while I am aware of it, you are completely unaware." It is something that I have taught often.

And it was because of these teachings that people from all walks of life, from all over the world, celebrity (the likes of Goldie Hawn, Ricky Martin, Issac Tigrett [founder of The Hard Rock Cafe], cricket champion Sachin Tendulkar, to name only a few) and common-man alike, turned to him and learned from him, and enriched their lives because of applying his teachings.

Baba said “Life is a challenge, meet it! Life is a dream, realize it! Life is a game, play it! Life is Love, enjoy it!” It was under this mantra, that I grew up, I learned, and I lived; and I continue to do so to this day, and I will continue to do so for the rest of my life.

He truly was a miracle man and did perform many miracles. Two very dear friends of my Mum and avid-devotees had experiences that were almost unbelievable had I not witnessed them with my own eyes. Knowing these women, I knew them to be honest, upstanding, and absolute in their faith.

One friend was lent a photo of Baba from another friend who had recently been to his ashram and who had received a materialized medallion (a blessing) from Baba. The photo was framed and at the time, the lady to
whom this photo was lent was praying for a miracle to occur. Each night she prayed and each morning she prayed. One day she found that on the photo itself (inside the glass) was forming the holy ash that Sai Baba is known to materialize, vibhuti. By the time I saw the photo, the ash was thick under the glass and was covering most of the photo. It was truly an amazing miracle.

An example of the miracle of Sai Baba's vibhuti manifesting
in photos
After returning that particular photo to the original owner, she purchased another photo and she has had the new photo continuing to manifest vibhuti on it, under the glass.

When I wrote to inform her of Baba's passing, she told me that that very morning, the vibhuti  from Baba's head on her photo had disappeared and she had wondered why.

Another friend, we knew in Malaysia, was also a devout devotee. She woke up one morning to find ash all through her house, the more she swept and cleaned, the more materialized. Once again, if I had not seen it for myself and with my own eyes, I would not have believed it, or at least questioned it.

Baba manifesting vibhuti
Baba was a huge part of my life. He still is. I have experienced my own miracles with him, those that I still hold close to me. This week, Baba left this incarnation. While he left this physical presence, he is closer to us now than he was ever before. His miracles will continue. His life will continue in all of us who are devotees of his message, his works, and his life. He can never die, as long as we continue.

It is said he will return, be reincarnated as Prema Sai Baba which will be the third and last of the triple Avatar incarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba and Sathya Sai Baba.

Prema Sai Baba
"Sathya Sai Baba made several claims about when Prema Sai Baba will be born - estimates range from one year after his death (which would mean 2012) to eight years after (which would mean 2019). Prema Sai "will be born in Karnataka (the old Mysore State), at a place between Bangalore and the city of Mysore". Some of Sai Baba's devotees add that he once said that Prema Sai Baba will be born and/or live in or near Srirangapatna. Sathya Sai Baba died on April 24, 2011 at age 84 (though he considered himself to be 85 as he was in his 85th year)." [Source]

I believe he lives on. I continue to live by his teachings, they make sense, they traverse the bounds of religion and apply to all mankind. While my tears fall at his passing from this physical incarnation, I do take comfort in the knowing that he was such a great part of my life and that much of my life and how I live it, is because of his teachings of peace and love.




On the day that many around the Christian-world celebrated the Resurrection and eternal life of their Saviour, we mark the life and journey of Sathya Sai Baba, and his entrance in to eternal life. It was an auspicious day for his departure from this incarnation, and lends many devotees to the belief that he truly was an incarnation of Jesus who returned Home, chosen on that specific day.



Whatever the truth behind it is, he no longer walks among us in the physical, and many over time have chosen their own beliefs about Sai Baba, but those of us who knew, who love, and who believe, all we can do is repeat back to you the words of this great Avatar “Before you speak, think -Is it necessary? Is it true? Is it kind? Will it hurt anyone? Will it improve on the silence?”

Jai Sai Ram. Om Sai Ram. Sri Sai Ram. Shanti, Shanti Om.



©Leyla Hur
All Rights Reserved. Copying, altering, displaying or redistribution of this material without written permission from the author is strictly prohibited.