We had a wonderful gathering on Friday at Michelle's place. Vik and Michelle provided great snacks as well as a delicious dinner. Their explanation for all the wonderful goodies was that we need to nourish our bodies as we nourish our souls. All I can say -- thank you, guys !
Our objective was to get introduced to the book for those who haven't read it and for all of us to begin discussing and absorbing its message. As Subhashji had suggested we began our discussion by observing that there is much collective dysfunction in this world. This dysfunction is created by our minds and egos and is the cause of much misery, collectively in the world as well as individually in a person. The rest of the book will go into recognizing and addressing the symptoms and causes of this dysfunction, and I personally am very much looking forward to it. At the same time, we're putting the fun back in the dys'fun'ction of our group ... :)
What I like about our group is that we bring a variety of viewpoints. Michelle, Meenakshi, and Anna brought up points that showed healthy skepticism about life and its problems, which are not always so easily explained or resolved. Vik mentioned the book The Secret and how its message of positive thinking can transform your life in the immediate future. Salmah made the point about prayer being an effective tool in dealing with life's challenges. Minto asserted the idea that every problem has a solution that is most certainly already residing within you. Also, the parents in our group have made a conscious decision to include children in these meetings. Even if the verbal concepts are not fully understood, the younger members absorb the positive vibrations that we generate; and I think everyone benefits just being near an innocent presence or consciousness.
We are really fortunate to have a new member in our group, Robin Richardson, who is a professional spiritual teacher and psychic. There is a wealth of information on her website http://yourpsychicgirlfriend.com and I would encourage everyone to check it out. I think having Robin in our gatherings will add a wonderful dimension to our journey on the path. The presence of a learned person seems to make the journey more real rather than just a theoretical exercise.
The essence of Eckhart Tolle's message in this book is that we need to bring about a shift in our consciousness. The brief glimpse that I have had into this new consciousness has had a very dramatic impact to me. That is why I am so excited and happy to be doing this discussion, and I hope everyone will experience this shift, if they have not already had it.
Great summary of the events of our last gathering!! I have started reading chapter 1 of "A New Earth" and am looking forward to hear and discuss everybody's thoughts on it in our next meeting.
ReplyDeleteMeenakshi.
Thank you Rajeev for the wonderful summary. I think it is great that we can recognize everyone's unique perspectives and ideas. I think it is easy to walk away from a discusion thinking only about what we as individuals have gotten from it. Seeing everything recapped has helped me remember how differently everyone processes the same meeting. This just reminds of how different our individual journey's and perceptions really are. I will look forward to our next discussion.
ReplyDeleteThank you Raj and everyone for such a delightful evening. It was wonderful to hear everyone's perspective. There is always something new to learn. I feel the group is a good way to expand consciousness. Connecting again with Eckhardt Tolle's book, is a good reminder that there is more to consider.
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