So The Teachers Say

“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” That is what so many masters are known to have said over the years. My teacher Moshe had told it in his class that I first attended. Louise Hay is known to say it many times. And I find myself saying it because I have been very grateful for the many teachers that appeared in my life at the most appropriate times. It is assurance that when we are ready to listen, the answers that we are seeking will be revealed to us, hopefully one after another.

Has it ever happened to you that you look at a view that you think you know and it feels as if you are seeing it as if for the first time? Every time I live such an experience, and yes it happens on and off, I realize how at times we are actually usually far-off from the moment we are living.

There are many books on the importance of being in the now, being present in the moment. Eckhart Tolle’s famous book “The Power of Now” and its workbook are some of the best on the subject. How else can we improve our presence in the moment?

The famous actor of the movies Van Helsing and X-Men Hugh Jackman says that acting is a wonderful activity for learning to be and to stay in the moment. I was watching an old interview yesterday about the Broadway musical “The Boy from Oz” with which Jackman won a Tony Award. He describes acting, especially in the theatre, to be an activity that is only achievable through being in each and every moment. I wonder if there are any amateur theatre groups in Fethiye. There was one in The Fethiye Cultural Centre of the Municipality last year. I wonder if there is a theatre group in English. Wouldn’t it be nice to have one?

***

Anyway. Would our lives be radically different if we could indeed stay in the moment? When I am painting, I find myself not able to think of anything else. I feel free. Musicians say similar things. When we engage in an activity that we really love, all concerns, worries and problems seem to dissolve. That is also one of the key elements of happiness. Talents are given for a reason. Look for your talents and the hidden gifts you have. Everybody has a purpose and a function in the world. You just have to find out what it is. Easy said than done. Once in a while I am sceptical about it, yet time and time again I am assured that every event that takes place has a purpose. Each life we touch and person we meet has a place in our life. What happened had to be that way. For a reason. Yet, we need to remember also that each next moment is there to be created anew. We are not anchored in our past. Using the power of intention and honest desire, we can create anything no matter how late we think it is.

There are so many methods and suggestions and books. You know what, we need them all and we do not need anything at the same time. Yet, until every one of us is totally content with life, I guess this search for the better will probably go on.

***

This week I would like to share some quotes from some of my favourite teachers and books. Here is wisdom from the masters:

- “When we create something, we always create it first in a thought form.” Shakti Gawain

- “It is looking at things for a long time that ripens you and gives you a deeper understanding.” Vincent Van Gogh

- “Prepare your mind to receive the best that life has to offer.” Ernest Holmes

- “Magic has often been thought of as the art of making dreams come true; the art of realizing visions. Yet before we can bring birth to the vision… we have to see it.” Starhawk

- “Do. Not try. There is no try.” Yoda from Star Wars

- “It is good to collect things, but it is better to go on walks.” Anatole France

- “It takes a long time to become young.” Pablo Picasso

- “A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” Mark Twain

- “Some people actively retain illness and energy blockages usually because it is more convenient or familiar to live this way.” Caitlin Matthews

- “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Eleanor Roosevelt

- “Every day the energy you need for that day will be given to you. What you need for tomorrow will be given tomorrow. Do not try to carry tomorrow’s load with today’s energy.” Moshe Abudaram

- “I saw my Lord with the eye of my heart, and I said: Who art Thou? He said: Thou.” Al-Hallaj

- “Miracles do not happen in contradiction to nature, but only in contradiction to that which is known to us of nature.” St. Augustine

- “When we pay attention to nature’s music, we find that everything on the earth contributes to its harmony.” Hazrat Inayat Khan

- “The warrior of light tries to establish what he can truly rely on. And he always checks that he carries three things with him: faith, hope and love.” From Manual of The Warrior of Light by Paulo Coelho.

- “The simple things are also the most extraordinary, and only wise men can see them.” From The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

- “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Wayne W. Dyer.

- “The birth and death of leaves is part of that greater cycle that moves among the stars.” Rabindranath Tagore

- “We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” T. S. Eliot

- “Just imagine that the purpose of life if your happiness only – then life becomes a cruel and senseless thing. You have to embrace the wisdom of humanity. Your intellect and your heart tell you that the meaning of life is to serve the force that sent you into the world. Then life becomes a joy.” Leo Tolstoy

- “The power of the word is real whether or not you are conscious of it.” Sonia Choquette

- “Life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived.” Thomas Merton

***

Please remember that you are your own true master. All of the rest are your torch carriers, your light towers. Your story is the one that waits for you to be written.

With love and light to you all.
Z.
__________________
Affirmation of the Week:
“Each day is a new opportunity. Yesterday is over and done. Today is the first day of my future.”
By Louise L. Hay

Quote of the Week:
“What if I should discover that the poorest of the beggars and the most impudent of offenders are all within me, and that I stand in need of the alms of my own kindness; that I myself am the enemy who must be loved – what then?”
Carl Jung

Book of the Week:
“The Chronicles of Narnia” By C.S. Lewis.
There are 7 stories in this series. “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” is the one we know from the movie. There are six more stories. I recommend reading all seven.
The Turkish translations of these stories are available under the name “Narnia Günlükleri.”