Being Immortal

Matter changes in six phases: birth, growth, maintenance, production of by-products, dwindling, and death. But the life within matter, the spirit soul, is eternal; it goes through no such changes. Life appears to be developing and decaying, but actually it is simply passing through each of these six phases until the material body can no longer be maintained. Then the old body dies, and the soul enters a new body. When our clothing is old and worn, we change it. Similarly, one day our bodies become old and useless, and we pass on to a new body.

As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. This means that only the material body of the indestructible and eternal entity is subject to destruction. This material body is perishable, but the life within the body is nitya, eternal.

Your belief window

We don’t see things as they are; we see things as we are. You may not be aware of this little-known but highly important part of your person that affects many of the decisions you make and how you behave in different situations. It is your Belief Window.

You cannot actually see your Belief Window because it’s invisible, but we all have one. It is figuratively attached to your head and hangs in front of your face. Every time you move, that window goes with you. You look at the world through it, and what you see is filtered back to you through it.

Your Belief Window is always there with you, filtering what you see - the oceans of data and information helping you make sense of the world around you. It influences the way you perceive others, the way you read situations, and the feelings you have about yourself.

The tricky thing about the Belief Window is that you have placed perceptions on it which you believe are absolutely true, whether they reflect reality or not. For example, your experiences and social feedback may have caused you to believe that you are smart, stupid, beautiful, ugly, competent, incompetent, creative, or dull - regardless of whether they are true. And because you believe them you unquestioningly act as though they are. That’s why changing our behavior is sometimes such a difficult task.

Until we realize that we view the world through our Belief Windows and that it constantly filters our experiences, we will continue to think that we see life “as it really is.”

One of the most important things we can do is to make sure our Belief Window is as clear as possible and truly reflects the reality. This may be the most difficult thing to do. You will probably have to swallow your pride, and admit that you do have a Belief Window that affects much of what you do, and recognize that some of the things you’ve placed on it are incorrect. In doing so, you will have achieved the critical first step in freeing yourself from erroneous self-ideas that may be impeding your progress.

Be grateful for what God has given you

How grateful would you say you are?  Did you know that your gratitude level can directly affect your happiness?  Now that may sound little strange.
      
Even financial experts agree that gratitude is a vital component for increasing wealth and success.  This basic premise of gratitude is to acquire a more positive and receptive state of being.  Here is how it actually works. You begin by being grateful for the smaller and more immediate things like having a place to live, food to eat, etc.  By placing yourself in a positive frame of mind through gratitude, you open yourself to all the good things the universe has to offer.

That is when you can actually begin to attract good things to you.  And as you become more comfortable with the positive things that basic gratitude brings, you will likely find yourself feeling grateful for even bigger things like being alive, learning hard lessons, your past mistakes, the freedom to make choices in life, and more.  This type of gratitude catapults you even further along the path to a successful and happy life.
  
Once you reach the point where you remain in a constant state of gratitude, you will become a magnet that attracts the good things to you.
      
Take some time every day this week to note those things that you are grateful for, from the smallest to the biggest

Quest for Happiness

Suppose a man is thrown into the ocean. He may be an expert swimmer, but he cannot be happy in the ocean because he is out of his natural condition of life. The only way he will become happy is if someone picks him up from the ocean and places him on the land.

So if we are serious, if we actually want to be happy, we must take to the cultivation of spiritual understanding, an understanding of Krishna consciousness. Of course, in every country of the world there is some religious system, some system for understanding spiritual life. But unfortunately, almost nobody is interested in spiritual life because people have been induced to become addicted to material, or sensual, activities. They are going further and further away from spiritual life and becoming more and more confused. Disappointment is rising all over the world.

So to mitigate this disappointment and confusion, one has to take to Krishna consciousness. Try to understand the philosophy of Krishna consciousness, and act accordingly. Then you will be happy.