Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Mirroring---Good And Bad In Each Of Us

My husband was doing some reorganizing in the bedroom earlier and ran across a notebook of mine with writings from 1997 and 1998. Here are a few ideas that I found that I had written down and wanted to share with you today. When I learned these things, they made a huge difference in how I related to myself and others. These came from a class that I was taking at the time.

1. "The faults you see in others are merely projections of your own; the good you see in others is a reflection of your own goodness."---It was easier for me to see this in relation to what I thought of as the bad in me than it was for the good in me. Everything that you like and admire in another person is because you have that same trait in yourself. We are all the same---good and bad.

2. "Think no evil, think what is good. See no evil; see what is good. Hear no evil; hear what is good. Speak no evil; speak what is good. Do no evil; do what is good."---I think this is a quote from Sai Baba but I don't know the source for sure.

3. "If you want happiness and if you want peace, you must give love. Only though love will you find true happiness. Only through love will you will inner peace."

4. "Develop your love; live in love. Love lives by giving and forgiving."

The above words of wisdom were taught to me by my spiritual teacher of the time, Saji Burke. I have never said "Thank You." publically to Saji before. He taught me about Sai Baba and made my first two trips to India an accomplishment that I will always treasure. I would never have had those experiences without Saji's guidance. One of the most difficult lessons that Saji also taught me was that sometimes the student outgrows the teacher. Saji isn't in my life today. I often think about him and wish him well wherever he is. Because of Saji and his teachings, my world is a much better and bigger place. Thank you, Saji. I will always love you.
Patricia

6 comments:

therapydoc said...

Great words, Patricia.

Patricia Singleton said...

Therapy Doc, thanks, they were from a class that I took years ago.

Anonymous said...

I love this Patricia, "Think no evil, think what is good. See no evil; see what is good. Hear no evil; hear what is good. Speak no evil; speak what is good. Do no evil; do what is good."

It all seems so simple doesn't it and it is. Why we make it so difficult I don't know.

A very thoughtful post. It's fun when you come up with notes and letters from things you've learned from the past.

Blessings,

Patricia Singleton said...

Pat, yes, it really is so simple. It is our ego that wants to make everything so complicated so that it feels needed.

Anonymous said...

I really like #2. If only people would do this on a regular basis, things would be a lot calmer all over the world! I wish there was more of that kind of person in me!

Patricia Singleton said...

Jenny, it really would be a better place if more people lived by #2. Instead of just wishing, I focus on making it happen. Be what you want to become.