Search This Blog

Monday, July 12, 2021


The wisdom of the heart cannot be learned
It can only be revealed


Monday, May 18, 2020

YOU are not a thought

What are you like inside? Do you get angry when someone cuts in front of you out on the highway? Do you feel that you've been cheated by God? You've been left out? Who's thinking that? Who's thinking you've been cheated? A thought. But you take that thought as being yourself, and you call it valid. Vernon Howard Talk, June 26, 1980, Man is in a Stage of Evolutionary Development

Sunday, May 17, 2020

You are not your deepest fear

Do not fear to see the darkness. That darkness is not who you are. Do not listen to the voice of ego. Listen to the voices of angels. Listen to the small still voice of God. You are not the darkness. You are not your worst act. You are not your darkest most secret thought. Your true nature is Light.

Monday, May 11, 2020

Cedar Tea

I was going to share this with the people taking Nature Course Part 2, but decided to share it with everyone. It's a recipe for Cedar Tea, shared with me by a woman who works with the indigenous population of Canada, members of the First Nation.

Cedar Tea is wonderful medicine. Easy to make. Go to where there is no road salt or chemicals so you can gather clean cedar. Offer your tobacco. For people who don't carry tobacco, you can offer bird seeds. 

If you sense that the tree doesn't want you to take the cedar, leave it be. The plants will always speak to us, and we can learn, again, how to listen to them the way we once did.

Cut only what you need. Use the green - a handful is good enough. Remember to offer thanks to the tree. 

Boil about half a handful of cedar in 2 cups of water until the water turns light golden. Only drink 1 cup. Cedar is powerful medicine and contains a lot of vitamin C. 

You can refrigerate any remaining tea. Heat it again in a pot, not a microwave. Return anything you don't use back to the earth.

Remember: Cedar tea should never be drunk more than one cup per day. Cedar is a safe and very effective medicine, but its medicine will soon become poison if this one simple rule is not followed. Cedar contains Thujone which is toxic to the human body in large doses. Maybe best to drink it only every other day, or less.

Friday, April 24, 2020

Beloved One

Beloved One
How are you faring? Please do not be harsh with yourself. “Spiritual” people are often hard on themselves for not living up to their “spiritual” ideas. What if there is nothing to live up to—especially your own ideas of perfection. What if there is just Being…being in the moment. Learning in the moment. Understanding in the moment.
What if you could “forgive” yourself each moment? Where would be the stress, then? The tension? The despair? Wouldn’t it all disappear?
Let yourself be. Just be. Leave yourself alone for a while — stop identifying with harsh thoughts of lack, loss, fear, limitation, and self-condemnation. Stop letting harsh thoughts control you, make you feel bad and worthless.
Stop telling yourself that you did it wrong, should do it better. Accept what IS now. What just happened — happened. It’s over now. It’s over. You do not have to continually blame and reproach yourself for what just happened—whether it happened a minute ago or ten years ago. You really don’t. You. Really. Don’t.
You are free to forgive yourself. Now. Each now. Each now is new when you do not carry the burdens of a moment ago into now—otherwise, there is no now for you. There is only the past with all its burdens.
Let yourself alone. Let yourself be. At least for a moment. At least this moment. Perhaps you’d like to tour to a tomb in Egypt today... https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=NeiMEZa9d93&fbclid=IwAR2sQ5D54j3XIiH6SQKMQuPc9ytsZDHtmtiMNfECZ3-OFGb5tAAQhaL3LKM

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

THE LOST FAIRY

Do you remember the story of The Lost Fairy that I sent as one of your daily messages? I invited you to create your own ending to the story. Our California classmate Debra R. did just that. Thanks, Debra. I liked reading your ending. It's nice to see that we can have different endings for the same story. Just like in real life. Here is the story I sent, with Debra's ending below.

THE LOST FAIRY

I should have known she was only pretending to be lost. How can a fairy ever be lost? No matter what a fairy tells you, no matter how contrary a fairy acts—and fairies can act very contrary—all fairies belong to the kingdom of angels. So just as an angel can never be lost, neither can a fairy. 

Still, on this particular day, this particular fairy did her best to convince me that she was lost. She sighed and let her big green eyes look very sad. She sat down on a coppery-colored mushroom in the middle of a fairy ring and pouted. She flew around in circles like she had no idea which way to go. 

Finally, she insisted that she just had to sit on my shoulder so she could have a good look around and find out where she was. 

"You are right where you are," I told her. 

She scowled. 

"You've got wings. Fly high.”

She scowled again and told me she was tired and too full of taffy to fly except in circles and circles never got her anywhere. 

“Taffy? When were you eating taffy?" 

She told me it was none of my business. 

I rolled my eyes to the heavens. Who can argue with a fairy, especially a lost one? I picked her up, put her on my shoulder, and started my walk through the jungly trees, my little dog at my side. I must have walked about a mile with the little fairy happily buzzing, humming, and chattering in my ear.

Want to hear the rest of this story? So do I, but I ran out of words. You are welcome to write your own ending, so long as it’s happy. Fairies only like happy endings. Please feel free to send me your endings. or post them here. One day, perhaps, I will post mine -- or not. Hugs & Kisses, Indira

Debra wrote:
 Indira, I had such fun with this!

Fairy ðŸ§š‍♂️ lost story 
Feeling quietly invigorated, it was time for me to go home as well. I said to the fairy, “Have you found home?”

She began to snicker and giggle, as only fairies can do. "Silly, I am home wherever I am in this beautiful ðŸŒ³ forest."

A lesson for you to walk with ease and find your peace as we stroll along. Hand in hand or wing to wing!

"But I do have a house, can you find the door? Look high and low for my humble abode, decorated with moss, a toad stool...a whisper of a feather. A place to hide, a place to sleep, a riddle is yours to keep. And Taffy is my name."

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Third Chinese Patriarch of Zen, Hsin Hsin Ming Seng Ts'an, Translation by Richard B. Clarke


The Great Way* is not difficult for those who have no preferences.  When love and hate are both absent, everything becomes clear and undisguised.  Make the smallest distinction, however, and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart. If you wish to see the truth, then hold no opinions for, or against, anything.  To set up what you like against what you dislike is the disease of the mind.  When the deep meaning of things is not understood, the mind's essential peace is disturbed to no avail.

The Way is perfect, like vast space where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess.  Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept or reject that we do not see the true nature of things.  Live neither in the entanglements of outer things, nor in inner feelings of emptiness.  Be serene in the oneness of things, and such erroneous views will disappear by themselves.  When you try to stop activity to achieve passivity, your very effort fills you with activity.  As long as you remain in one extreme or the other, you will never know Oneness.

Those who do not live in the single Way fail in both activity and passivity, assertion and denial.  To deny the reality of things is to miss their reality; to assert the emptiness of things is to miss their reality.  The more you talk and think about it, the further astray you wander from the truth.  Stop talking and thinking, and there is nothing you will not be able to know.

To return to the root is to find the meaning, but to pursue appearances is to miss the source.  At the moment of inner enlightenment, there is going beyond appearance and emptiness.  The changes that appear to occur in the empty world we call real only because of our ignorance.  Do not search for the truth; only cease to cherish opinions.

Bodhidharma Image 2Do not remain in the dualistic state; avoid such pursuits carefully.  If there is even a trace of this and that, of right and wrong, the Mind-essence will be lost in confusion.  Although all dualities come from the One, do not be attached even to this One.  When the mind exists undisturbed in the Way, nothing in the world can offend, and when a thing can no longer offend, it ceases to exist in the old way.

When no discriminating thoughts arise, the old mind ceases to exist.  When thought-objects vanish, the thinking-subject vanishes, as when the mind vanishes, objects vanish.  Things are objects because of the subject (mind); the mind (subject) is such because of things (objects).  Understand the relativity of these two and the basic reality: the unity of emptiness.  In this Emptiness the two are indistinguishable and each contains, in itself, the whole world.  If you do not discriminate between coarse and fine, you will not be tempted to prejudice and opinion.
Bodhidharma Image 3To live in the great Way is neither easy nor difficult, but those with limited views are fearful and irresolute; the faster they hurry, the slower they go.  And clinging (attachment) cannot be limited.  Even to be attached to the idea of enlightenment is to go astray.  Just let things be in their own way, and there will be neither coming nor going.  Obey the nature of things (your own nature) and you will walk freely and undisturbed.

When thought is in bondage, the truth is hidden, for everything is murky and unclear, and the burdensome practice of judging brings annoyance and weariness.  What benefit can be derived from distinctions and separation?

Bodhidharma Image 4If you wish to move in the one Way, do not dislike even the world of senses and ideas.  Indeed, to accept them fully is identical with true enlightenment.  The wise man strives to no goals, but the foolish man fetters himself.  There is one Dharma, not many; distinctions arise from the clinging needs of the ignorant.  To seek Mind with the (discriminating) mind is the greatest of all mistakes.

Rest and unrest derive from illusion; with enlightenment there is no liking and disliking.  All dualities come from ignorant inference.  They are like dreams or flowers in air; foolish to try to grasp them.  Gain and loss, right and wrong; such thoughts must finally be abolished at once.

If the eye never sleeps, all dreams will naturally cease.  If the mind makes no discriminations, the ten thousand things are as they are, of single essence.  To understand the mystery of this One-essence is to be released from all entanglements.  When all things are seen equally, the timeless Self-essence is reached.  No comparisons or analogies are possible in this causeless, relationless state.

Consider movement stationary, and the stationary in motion; both movement and rest disappear.  When such dualities cease to exist, Oneness itself cannot exist.  To this ultimate finality no law or description applies.

For the unified mind in accord with the Way, all self-centered striving ceases.  Doubts and irresolutions vanish, and life in true faith is possible.  With a single stroke we are freed from bondage; nothing clings to us and we hold to nothing.  All is empty, clear, self-illuminating, with no exertion of the mind's power.  Here thought, feeling, knowledge and imagination are of no value.  In this world of Suchness, there is neither self nor other-than-self.

Bodhidharma Image 5To come directly into harmony with this reality, just simply say when doubts arise, "Not two".  In this "not two", nothing is separate, nothing is excluded.  No matter when or where, enlightenment means entering this truth.  And this truth is beyond extension or diminution in time or space; in it, a single thought is ten thousand years.

Emptiness here, emptiness there, but the infinite universe stands always before your eyes.  Infinitely large and infinitely small; no difference, for definitions have vanished and no boundaries are seen.  So, too, with being and non-being.  Don't waste time in doubts and arguments that have nothing to do with this.  One thing, all things, move among and intermingle without distinction.  To live in this realization is to be without anxiety about non-perfection.  To live in this faith is the road to non-duality, because the non-dual is one with the trusting mind.

Words!  The Way is beyond language, for in it, there is no yesterday, no tomorrow, no today.

Monday, March 23, 2020

Navajo Flatbread: Makes 6

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1  1/4 cups of lukewarm water 
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons oil (canola oil or vegetable oil work best)
  • … Additional 1-2 Tablespoons oil (for frying)

Mix flour, salt, baking powder & 2 tsp. canola oil together in a mixing bowl and add most of the water.  Continue mixing and adding water until it has the consistency of tacky pizza dough. 

Knead for a few minutes. Let rest in greased bowl for 30- 60 minutes. Divide into 6 pieces and roll out very thin (tortilla thickness) onto a  floured surface.

Heat cast iron skillet or griddle to 350F & add 1 T. canola oil.  Heat oil til hot but not smoky hot.

Cook until golden brown spots appear on one side.. then flip and cook the other side until done. These can be made ahead and kept under a flour sack towel (up to 2 days) or frozen in a Ziplock bag (for later use.

Hope this helps.

Very Special thanks to: Brandon Johnson from the The Brass Kettle for this recipe

Monday, March 16, 2020

BEING BREATHED



Reading the words of angels can have an uplifting, transformative influence upon your life because angels are positive forms of energy. Angels exist continuously in peace, so peace is what they share. You also share your state of being constantly. The only thing you can share is your state of being. 

When you know that you can trust yourself, you live continuously in peace. Trusting yourself does not mean trusting that nothing “bad” will ever happen to you or someone you love. The world is an insecure place, remember?—at least when viewed through the eyes of ego. 

SELF-TRUST MEANS CONNECTING WITH HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESSKNOWING HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF—IN DARK TIMES, IN LIGHT TIMES, IN ALL TIMES:

  • Asking for help when you need it. 
  • Taking time to sit quietly in meditation
  • Taking a walk to still inner agitation. 
  • Entering into the warm embrace of Mother Nature.
  • Treating all of life with loving compassion. 
  • Saying you are sorry when you intrude unkindly into someone else’s space. 
  • Practicing self-forgiveness and other-forgiveness.
  • Turning over to God that which is too big for you to handle. 
  • Choosing healthy food that will nourish and sustain your life. 
  • Drinking enough water.
  • Moving, walking, exercising to stay strong, flexible, and relieve stress.
  • Most importantly, being patient and kind with yourself as you walk your path to Wholeness.

At birth breath flows into your body and at death breath flows out. Breath is divinely intelligent, intuitive, and creative.

You can trust breath to flow in and out. You do not have to do anything to make this happen. Even as you sleep, breath continues. The amazing act of breathing happens completely on its own, with no effort from you.

Breath flows in. Breath flows out. Be still and focus upon the breath that gives and sustains your life. Inhale and feel breath nourish and fill you. Exhale and feel tension flowing out. Bathe in the joy of effortless breathing. Let yourself experience gratitude for the clear and simple act of breathing. Everything loves gratitude. Gratitude is a most amazing force. Even breath loves gratitude. Breathe in gratitude. Breathe out gratitude. 

Throughout your day, when you notice that you are tense, frightened, or angry, bring your focus to breath. Let breath slow and deepen. When breath is harmonized, so are you. Then you are one step closer to self-trust. You trust breath. You trust that peace is only a breath away. Breathing. Being breathed. 

Bring your attention to your breath whenever you are tense, agitated, or sad. Consciously focus on harmonizing breath. Breathe out tension and breathe in peace. 

In most places, it is spring now—a perfect time to ride a bicycle or take a long hike. A perfect time to go outside and take big breaths of air, all the way down to your toes. A perfect time to open your arms wide and invite light and wellness into your being. A perfect time to notice how breath just happens. A perfect time to notice that you can trust breath to happen.     

The angels thank you, for it is in serving humans that they serve God. Please go with love on your path.

Friday, March 13, 2020

Beautiful Attributes

Beautiful attributes to work towards, to keep in mind, to practice, to contemplate...with great enthusiasm.
* Acceptance 
* A
ssertiveness 
* Authenticity 
* Beauty 
* Caring 

* Clarity
* Cleanliness 
* Commitment 
* Compassion 
* Confidence 
* Consideration 
* Contentment 
* Cooperation 
* Courage 
* Creativity 
* Detachment 
* Determination

* Decency 
* Dignity 

* Encouragement 
* Enthusiasm 
* Ethical 
* Excellence 
* Fairness 
* Faith 
* Flexibility 
* Forgiveness 
* Friendliness 

* Generosity 
* Gentleness 
* Graciousness 
* Gratitude 
* Harmonious 
* Helpfulness 
* Honesty 
* Honor 
* Hope 
* Humility 
* Idealism 
* Integrity 
* Imaginative 
* Joyfulness 
* Justice 
* Kindness 
* Love 
* Loyalty 
* Moderation 
* Modesty 
* Optimistic 
* Orderliness 
* Passionate 
* Patience 
* Peace 
* Perseverance 
* Preparedness 
* Purposefulness 
* Reliability 
* Respect 
* Responsibility 
* Reverence 
* Self-discipline 

Serenity
* Service 
* Sincerity 
* Tact 
* Temperate 
* Tenacious 
* Thankfulness 
* Tolerance 
* Trust 
* Truthfulness 
* Understanding 
* Unity 
* Visionary 
* Wisdom 

* Acceptance 
* A
ssertiveness 
* Authenticity 
* Beauty 
* Caring 
* Cleanliness 
* Commitment 
* Compassion 
* Confidence 
* Consideration 
* Contentment 
* Cooperation 
* Courage 
* Creativity 
* Detachment 
* Determination 
* Dignity 
* Encouragement 
* Enthusiasm 
* Ethical 
* Excellence 
* Fairness 
* Faith 
* Flexibility 
* Forgiveness 
* Friendliness 
* Generosity 
* Gentleness 
* Graciousness 
* Gratitude 
* Harmonious 
* Helpfulness 
* Honesty 
* Honor 
* Hope 
* Humility 
* Idealism 
* Integrity 
* Imaginative 
* Joyfulness 
* Justice 
* Kindness 
* Love 
* Loyalty 
* Moderation 
* Modesty 
* Optimistic 
* Orderliness 
* Passionate 
* Patience 
* Peace 
* Perseverance 
* Preparedness 
* Purposefulness 
* Reliability 
* Respect 
* Responsibility 
* Reverence 
* Self-discipline 
* Service 
* Sincerity 
* Tact 
* Temperate 
* Tenacious 
* Thankfulness 
* Tolerance 
* Trust 
* Truthfulness 
* Understanding 
* Unity 
* Visionary 
* Wisdom 

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

The Deer Came Again Last Night

Nature is a lovely companion

the deer came last night. They come every night. I step out onto my porch in the moments before dawn and see that they have left me traces of their presence, quiet as they are, they never wake me. But there are trails in the snow.

It reminds me of snails. Snails leave trails of light, something of themselves, wherever they go. You can find those trails, shimmering in the sunlight, if you go close to the ground and look carefully and happen to be in a place they have journeyed to wherever they are going.

In the snow the deer go and I find their trails. Every morning. They lead right up to my porch and end exactly there. Do they step onto the porch then? Right outside my bedroom window? They must, but I cannot see their prints because the snow ends where the porch begins. The porch is made of cement, flat and even with the earth, and so the deer feel invited to step upon it.

Down further, in my yard, is a huge tree and the deer dance there in the dark. They leave circles of themselves, stomping the snow so the green grass shows.

They walk around my house too. Every night, they circle my house. Like protectors. Guardians. Drawing circles with their light deer feet around my house, Celtic circles, sweet Goddess magic, magic symbols. They leave their prints in the snow so I will know they have come in the darkness as I dream.

They love me, these deer. I feel it. I feel love pouring from their eyes when we come face to face in the woods and stop and stare at each, each of as still as frozen ice, barely breathing with the beauty of encountering something so wild and different from ourselves. We stare until we feel laughter bubbling up inside us, until the silence overwhelms us with its power, until we know we could stay that way forever.

Yesterday I encountered a huge herd of deer. The most I have ever seen alone with just me in the woods. I glimpsed them through the trees. I was listening to Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass on my iPhone with the speaker on. Normally, I walk silently. But this evening, I let the words play. Let the deer listen. Did not try secret stealth. Let them know I was there. The words were too beautiful to turn off. My fingers were too cold and lazy to move. I let the deer hear. Watched them flickering through the trees as they disappeared into the shadows of evening.

This morning I see the pathways of light they have left in the snow. Their circles of light, their light graceful hooves leaving traces of themselves wherever they go.

And they remind me, as the snail trails remind me, leave only light wherever you walk. To leave only light—be light, live light, think light, breathe light, feel light, only light. And the Lightness calls out in the form of deer and deer prints and snail prints, so still, so silent

Tuesday, January 21, 2020


The larger tree leaned close to the smaller tree, protecting and guiding it on its journey upward.

Learn from your mistakes

"I see no reason why I should be consciously wrong today because I was unconsciously wrong yesterday."—Robert H. Jackson  (1892—1954)  — U.S. Supreme Court Justice

—Massachusetts v. United States, 333 U.S. 611-40 (1943) 

—Robert Jackson was a  country lawyer from Chautauqua County. He was also the Chief American Prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Trials. Also Solicitor General, U.S. Attorney General, as well as  U.S. Supreme Court Justice. 




Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Writing, Drawing, Learning, Evolving

I have talked a lot about writing in our monthly school lessons. But it seems I have neglected drawing. I just found this about drawing: https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/drawing-is-fastest-most-effective-way-to-learn-according-to-new-research.html 

This article says that drawing is a way to learn better and faster. Research studies confirm this. You can read the article if you want to know more.

I am extrapolating this to higher learning. When you have a problem—try drawing it out. If it is with another person, draw that person. Draw yourself. Draw all aspects of the situation. You don't have to be talented at drawing. The study above says it doesn't matter how well you draw to learn more effectively—just draw.

Besides, drawing helps develop hand/eye coordination. And the more you draw, the better you become at it—learning by doing.

Drawing can also be a meditation. You focus all of your energy in that moment. It is also creative. You and Creation working together as One. You can draw out any problem or situation. Drawing allows you to tune into intuition. To the creative process. To possibly contact deeper and higher places within yourself.

Draw out decisions you are struggling with. Maybe draw all the possible outcomes you can think of.
Draw your emotions. 

Maybe have a drawing group. I am thinking of Britta now, as I write, who is a new student here. Britta teaches painting. To paint really well, it's best if you know how to draw first, at least according to most artists. Certainly this was true for Leonardo da Vinci, who spent time mastering drawing, as did most great artists. This doesn't mean that one must or should draw as part of therapeutic painting, because painting and the use of color also has great benefits. I encourage artistic creation of all kinds.

My beloved Hirth was an artist, a master guitar player, singer/songwriter, and musician. He did these things everyday: He drew. He created art using different media. He played his guitar. He sang. He wrote. He meditated. Everyday. He was very disciplined in this way.

So think about drawing. Think about using your creative powers. Whatever I have written about writing in your lessons, you can probably apply most of it to drawing too.

Much love, Indira
Drawings by Hirth Martinez




Saturday, January 11, 2020

Prayer for Spiritual Healing

I ask the great Unseen Healing Force
to remove all obstructions 
from my mind and body
and to restore me to perfect health.
I ask this in all sincerity and honesty
and I will do my part.
I ask this great Unseen Healing Force
to help both present and absent ones 
who are in need of help
and to restore them to perfect health
I put my trust in the love and power of God.
 

Where I live I often find animal tracks in the morning, when there is snow to see them. This looks like a bear track, because it has 5 toes, but it is probably a skunk who circled my house. It is smaller than the picture appears, although bears have come, circled my house, walked on my porch, looked in my windows. Deer also. 
 
This winter, there hasn't been much snow. In fact, yesterday it rained, the temperatures warmed up, and this morning, the snow is gone again. Unusual. I haven't lived here for many years, only recently having returned, and I expected white winters, the kind I knew growing up here. 
 
I wonder if the bears stay in hibernation anyway, even with these springlike temperatures? Anyway, it is interesting to see what is invisible to the eye without the snow--to see where the animals walk. Just as the Great Healing Force is always there, even when we can't see it, so are the animals strolling around my house, even when the snow isn't there to show their tracks.

Friday, January 10, 2020

If you can feel it, you can live it

How would your life be different if you had no fear? How would you feel? If you can feel it, you can be it. Live that way now. What would your life be like if you no longer feared other people? How would you act if you realized that others were powerless to hurt you? Imagine living in such a way.  Feel it. If you can feel it, you can live it. How would you live if you knew you were absolutely okay? Live that way now.
Hirth Martinez Art

Monday, January 6, 2020

Sri Ramana Maharshi

 “Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside.” -Ramana Maharshi

Truth is within the heart. The heart is always open. It is not the heart that is closed―it is the mind, which blames the heart for its own limitations and defects of character. People often speak about "opening the heart"which assumes that the heart is closed, which is not the case. As I have written in your lessons, esoteric means: hidden in plain sight. So you could say that God hid the Truth where most humans will never look. Within the heart. Cease to turn outward. Turn within and you will find your True Self shining in Radiant Splendor. Radiant Splendor? Well, yes. Just because you are not aware of it does not mean it is not there.



Nisargadatta Maharaj

The basic Teachings of Nisargadatta Maharaj  are complied in the book, I AM THAT. As some of you know, I was with Nisargadatta Maharaj for satsang in his home in Mumbai, which remains sweetly in my heart. Meetings with awakened saints and sages and angels are like that—no matter how brief they may be, they remain forever with us, because they are more real than anything. 
 
When seen through the eyes of enlightenment, nothing is ordinary, at least not not according to the way the unenlightened see. It's like seeing with the light of a thousand suns. Unawakened human beings see "through a glass darkly" as the New Testament says—with imperfect vision. When we awaken, we begin to see in a new way.
 
Question: I understand that everybody is under the obligation to realize. Is it his duty, or his destiny? 
 
Answer (Maharaj): Realization is the fact that you are not a person. Therefore, it cannot be the duty of the person, whose destiny is to disappear. Find out who he is and the imagined person will dissolve. Freedom is from something. What are you to be free from? Obviously, you must be free from the person you take yourself to be, for it is the idea you have of yourself that keeps you in bondage. I AM THAT


Spanish translation:
Pergunta: Entendo que todo mundo tem a obrigação de realizar. É seu dever ou seu destino?
Resposta (Maharaj): Realização é o fato de você não ser uma pessoa. Portanto, não pode ser dever da pessoa cujo destino é desaparecer. Descubra quem ele é e a pessoa imaginada se dissolverá. A liberdade é de alg
uma coisa. Do que você deve se libertar? Obviamente, você deve estar livre da pessoa que considera ser, pois é a ideia que você tem de si mesmo que o mantém em cativeiro. EU SOU ISSO

1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV:—12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

2020 Year of the Rat in Chinese Zodiac

Alert, Adaptable, Observant
According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2020 is the Year of the Rat. It begins on Chinese New Year,  January 25 and lasts until the Lunar New Year's Eve on February 11. The rat symbolizes strong vitality. The rat's personality is Alert, Adaptable, and Observant.