YOGA & AYURVEDA - Self-Healing and Self-Realisation

by David Frawley

1. "In the yogas of knowledge and devotion, techniques are subordinated to a more primary self-observation or self-surrender. But most aspirants, particularly in the modern world, require a good deal of work and purification to become capable of true insight or divine love. It is very difficult to do directly to God or the Self even for the best people in the best of times. To proceed without techniques can be to take the hard path, like trying to go on foot when a good vehicle is there to speed us on our journey. However, some people overemhpasize technique, which, without knowledge or devotion, must remain artificial and sterile. Technique should be blended with knowledge and devotion for it to best proceed and it should be done as a form of service."

2. "A true doctor heals through the life-force, not through his or her own personal energy. The mind of a true healer is attuned with the divine or the inner Self."

3. "Ayurveda works at healing and purifying the body and mind while yoga aims at taking us to Self-realisation, which depends upon a purified body and mind. In this way, the foundation of yoga should be Ayurveda and the fruit of Ayurveda should be yoga."

4. "Prana has many levels of meaning - from the breath to the energy of consciousness itself. Prana is not only the basic life-force, it is the master form of all energy working on the levels of mind, life and body. Indeed the entire universe is a manifestation of prana, which is the original creative power."

5. "Meditation is our ability to contact our true Self and consciousness (Atman or Purusha) which is the source of life and intelligence. Conversely, meditation is the ability to clear out the negative aspects of our consciousness, harmful subconsciousness habits and impulses that casue pain and suffering."

MESSAGES FROM THE MASTERS - Tapping into the Power of Love

by Dr Brian Weiss

1. "What is revealed to me is what is important to me, what concerns me. Each person must be concerned with him- or herself... with making him- or herself... whole. We have lessons to learn... each one of us. They must be learned one at a time... in order. Only then can we know what the next person needs, what he or she lacks or what we lack, to male us whole."

2. "When you look into the eyes of another, any other, and you see your own soul looking back at you, then you will know you have reached another level of consciousness."

3. "All is love... All is love. With love comes understanding. With understanding comes patience. And then time stops. And everything is now."

4. "We must share our knowledge with other people... We all have abilities far beyond what we use. You develop through relationships. There are some with higher powers who have come back with more knowledge. They will seek out those who need the development and help them."

5. "Patience and timing... everything comes when it must come. A life cannot be rushed, cannot be worked on a schedule as so many people want it to be. We must accept what comes to us at a given time, and not ask for more. But life is endless, so we never die; we were never really born. We just pass through different phases. There is no end. Humans have many dimensions. But time is not as we see time, but rather in lessons that are learned."

6. "It is well known that happiness comes from within. Happiness is an inner state. You will not miraculously become happy if someone else changes, or if the outside world changes, but only if you change. You must see with a larger perspective. Someone else may point the way, give you techniques, but that is all others can do. The rest if up to you."

THE WITCH OF PORTOBELLO

by Paulo Coelho

1. "Pity those who seek for shepherds, instead of longing for freedom! An encounter with the superior energy is open to anyone, but remains far from those who shift responsibilitiy onto others. Our time on this Earth is sacred, and we should celebrate every moment."

2. "What is a teacher? I'll tell you: it isn't someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows."

3. "Everything is at once so simple and so complicated! It's simple because all it takes is a change of attitude: I'm not going to look for happiness anymore. From now on, I'm independent; I see life through my eyes and not through other people's. I'm going in search of the adventure of being alive."

PAULO COELHO: Confessions of a Pilgrim

by Juan Arias

This book offers a chance for me to get to know one of my favorite authors up close and personal. I'm inspired by his life journey, insights and thoughts.

Q: "You declare yourself a believer. Who is God to you?"
A: "An experience of faith. And no more. Because I consider defining God to be a trap. I was asked that question during a conference. I said, 'I don't know. God doesn't mean the same thing to me as God does to you.' And the auditorium erupted in applause. It's what people feel, that there isn't a God suitable for everyone, because it's something very personal."

Q: "And you, personally, how do you fill up?"
A: "I fill up unthinkingly, in the classic process of pregnancy, after having made love with life, although I never know who the father is. For two years, in the interval between one book and the next, I do nothing, I don't take notes, but I am totally available to life. And, at some point, something gets inside me and weighs me down. And soon I feel the need to write."

Q: "Do you believe in reincarnation?"
A: "What really calms me is not thinking of a possible reincarnation, but rather being alive. I keep death very close and it's as if she's sitting in front of me to remind me each minute, 'Pay attention, do what you do well, don't leave until tomorrow what you could do today, don't entertain feelings of guilt, don't loathe yourself.' Death is the most natural thing that can happen to us."

THE POWER OF NOW - A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

by Eckhart Tolle

A powerful book on raising awareness and consciousness...

1. "Time isn't precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time - past and future - the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is."

2. "The quality of consciousness at this moment is what shapes the future - which, of course, can only be experienced as the Now."

3. "Seen from a higher perspective, conditions are always positive. To be more precise: they are neither positive nor negative. They are as they are. And when you live in complete acceptance of what is - which is the only sane way to live - there is no 'good' or 'bad' in your life anymore. There is only a higher good - which includes the 'bad'."

4. "In fact, if mental development and increased knowledge are not counterbalanced by a corresponding growth in consciousness, the potential for unhappiness and disaster is very great."

CONVERSATION WITH GOD BOOK 2 - An Uncommon Dialogue

by Neale Donald Walsch

I've learned so many refreshing ideas about life from this book that I've decided to live by and apply from moment to moment. Just to share a few...

1. "A life lived by choice is a life of conscious action. A life lived by chance is a life of unconscious reaction."

2. "Enjoy everything. Need nothing. ...the greatest gift you can give someone is the strength and the power not to need you, to need you for nothing."

3. "Be a gift to everyone who enters your life, and to everyone whose life you enter. Be careful not to enter another's life if you cannot be a gift."

4. "When someone enters your life unexpectedly, look for the gift that person has come to receive from you."

5. "Live the Law of Love now and forevermore. Give everything. Require nothing."