Want to help the world to be a better place? It starts with our own self...

I have just found out about today is World Peace Day...

May all beings have love and peace, and the world will be in peace...

 (Photos taken in Chiangmai from a painted wall beside the road)

We notice that there are many of us are very unhappy or depressed with the current situation in the world. We care for the world and want to help or make the world to become a better place for all beings to live in. We know that if the world is not in peace, there will be no peace in our own personal life as well. If the country is having problems, there is no peaceful condition for us to enjoy a good quality of life. If the world is having problems, it is difficult for us to be able to live in peace in anywhere of the world.

We want to have good and healthy living environment. We want peace and harmony among all beings disregard different nations, religions, believes and races. We want good, wise and selfless leaders to lead the world. We want all beings to respect and love and be kind to each other without anger, hatred, jealousy, violence and killings.

We also know that there are some people that don’t want the world to be in peace… Out of selfish intentions, they create disharmony and fear into the world. Some people just being very selfish not caring for the environment and damaging the environment consciously or unconsciously. Most of us might get very angry and frustrated with this. There’s nothing wrong to feel angry about this. But anger and hatred cannot stop this from happening. We should feel compassionate towards these people because they are being influenced or blinded by ignorance. They don’t have love, peace, compassion and wisdom in them. That’s why they are doing actions that are hurting other people and themselves.

Being upset, angry and hatred towards the bad situations that derive from wrong doings in the world now will not help the world to improve or to become better.

Anger and hatred cannot solve problems. They cannot remove negativity, anger and hatred that are existing in the world.

The only things that can stop ignorance, anger, hatred and violence, is compassion and wisdom. Only compassion and wisdom can help the world to change and evolve, to be peaceful.

This compassion and wisdom have to start with our own self. We need to realize compassion and wisdom in us. Then only we can spread compassion and wisdom to other beings, and share love and peace into the world.

If we ourselves are not compassionate, lack of wisdom, and are full of anger and hatred being disturbed by the “bad” happenings and “bad” people in the world, then how can we share love and peace with others and help the world to become a peaceful harmonious place, as we ourselves are not in peace?

If we don’t know how to take care ourselves and don’t know how to deal with our own mental and emotional tensions, then how can we take care of other beings or help others to be free from the mental and emotional tensions that contribute to the “bad” happenings in the world?

If we are full of negativity, how are we going to bring positivity and positive changes into the world?

Start with our own evolution. Love ourselves, be kind and compassionate towards our own self.

When we are compassionate towards ourselves, we won’t let ourselves to be over-powered by the impurities in our mind and be free from the influence of the selfish ego. All our actions are out of compassion and selflessness. Without intention to change the world, without expectation that the world will be changed, without discrimination of good or bad beings, wise or ignorant beings, we perform all actions that can be done to help the world to evolve. There is no anger and hatred. There is no disappointment and discontentment. There is no frustration and unhappiness.

Like the sun, the air, the water, the earth and the space. They give, provide and support all living beings and non-living beings to be exist in the universe. They perform their action of giving, providing and supporting unceasingly, selflessly, out of compassion, unlimitedly, unconditionally, without discrimination, without intention to give, they are giving all the time… Without expectation to benefit anyone or to receive anything in return, they just give, provide and support. It doesn’t matter if human beings are polluting the world, damaging the nature, and condemning the sun, the wind, the water and the earth for being too much or too little, they still continuously to give without anger, hatred and disappointment.

That is real compassion. Complete selfless. That is our true nature. Our true nature is selfless like the sun, the air, the water, the earth and the space, but we are being disconnected with this selflessness due to the veil of ignorance and the selfish ego. We become selfish and being influenced by all the impurities in the mind for us to act and react through thoughts, actions and speech.

All our actions are being influenced by the likes and dislikes, agreement and disagreement, craving and aversion that comes from the selfish and self-protective ego. And all these impure actions bring some consequences that are not necessary beneficial to anyone or as what we expected it to be.

In our true nature, there’s only selflessness and compassion, being free from the conditioned thinking mind, the limited intellect, the selfish ego, and be free from desires and ignorance. If all beings realize this true nature, being compassionate and wise, the world will be free from unnecessary and meaningless harmful wrong doings that come from human beings that are not happy, not peaceful and not satisfied due to ignorance and the wrong identification with the ego in the absence of love, peace, compassion and wisdom.

If we have love, peace, compassion and wisdom in us, we will know how to be happy and be at peace, will not be disturbed nor affected by the world, but at the same time we are aware of what is happening in the world. We know what is right, what is wrong but we are not being affected by neither of them. Out of compassion without selfish intention and expectation, we can perform many actions that need to be done and that can be done, to help other beings to realize the wisdom and compassion in them. But before that can happen, we ourselves need to be compassionate and wise. We ourselves must have love and are in peace. Then only we can share this compassion, wisdom, love and peace with other beings, and guide them to realize their true nature is love, peace, compassion and wisdom.

Only when we realize the wisdom and compassion in us, and start to reflect on our own thoughts, actions and speech, then we will have the awareness of what is right and what is wrong, what we should do and shouldn’t do. This justification of right and wrong, should do and shouldn’t do is coming from the wisdom within the true Self, and it is not coming from the limited and conditioned intellectual mind under the influence of the selfish ego, which is influenced by what the mind likes and doesn’t like, or what the mind thinks is good or not good, or what the mind agrees or disagrees with.

Knowledge that we studied from books or heard from somebody who told us or taught us since we were born until now, it’s not necessary absolutely true and correct. We were being manipulated or brain washed by so many informations that come from many impure sources.

Knowledge that will remove ignorance, anger, hatred, doubts, arrogance, jealousy, selfishness, discrimination, disharmony, violence, depression, greed, ill-will, fear and worry are true knowledge. Knowledge that will promote all these impurities are incorrect knowledge.

Knowledge and actions that are based on self-control (not being controlled or influenced by any influences that are other than ourselves and not trying to control others to be the way that we want them to be or what we think they should be), compassion (unconditional loving kindness) and selflessness (unselfish; not influenced by the ego) are pure knowledge and pure actions that cannot be judged by impure minds which are being conditioned or influenced by qualities of names and forms, selfish intention and expectation.

Some good people who love the world very much, “passionately” want to change the world, who “actively” want to help the world to become a better place, criticize those who focus on performing Sadhana spending their time meditating at a corner of the world, criticize them for sitting there doing nothing, didn’t go out to do something about the world’s problems, didn’t contribute anything to help to change the world…

The point is, when these meditator sitting there “doing nothing” is already contributing to the world as there is less a being generating negativity or harmful actions and vibrations into the world… The people who love the world “passionately” should be thankful for that.

While these meditator who seem like doing nothing, they are indeed generous contributors towards world peace, as they illuminate positive vibrations and energy of love and peace into the world…

If we don’t like what is happening in the world, and want to perform actions trying to change the situation or the condition of the world, this is very good. We should keep it up and do our best to help the world to improve, to be a better place…

But if at the same time, we are being proud and arrogant about ourselves being “good human being” or “responsible citizen of the world”, and start criticizing those who we “believe” and “think” that they don’t do anything to help the world, or they don’t contribute to a better world, and judging them as not “good human beings” or not “responsible citizen of the world”, such like “those who meditate sitting there doing nothing”, then we are not really helping the world, as we generate so much negative vibrations and energy into the world, just by being so proud and arrogant about ourselves and our “actions” that “want to change the world to be a better place”…

If we can perform all our “loving kindness” actions to help the world to be a better place without being proud and arrogant about ourselves, without criticizing those who “seem like” or “look like” they don’t contribute anything, without expecting other people will also be like us, to do what we do according to what we believe is right and good, and not doing what we don’t do according to what we believe is wrong and bad, then this is Yoga. This is selflessness and compassion…

Without peace, selflessness, compassion and wisdom in ourselves, even though we perform lots of actions try to help the world to become a better place, it doesn’t necessary means that we didn’t cause any destructions or didn’t generate negative vibrations or energy into the world…

If we want to help the world, please help ourselves first. Rise above ignorance, anger, hatred, selfishness, expectation, craving and aversion. Without being affected by what is happening in the world, out of compassion, selflessly we give and share love, peace, compassion and wisdom to every beings without fear and worry, without frustration and expectation, without attachment to our actions and the fruit of actions.

Be peaceful.

Be happy.

my daily yoga asana practice - video playlist

This is a sample of my daily yoga asana practice to share with those who want to know what I usually do for my personal asana practice.

Asana practice is an important practice in the path of Yoga to help us in purifying and controlling the mind, to render the mind calm and being at the present, as well as rendering the body strong and flexible preparing for meditation and to perform selfless service.

During the asana practice we learn to let go of judgment, comparison and expectation towards ourselves and other people. We learn to accept the present moment now as it is. We learn to accept ourselves as we are. We learn to accept the reality of the present moment now as it is, not necessary the way that we want it to be or the way that we think it should be.

It will not be the same in every session of asana practice (even if we perform the same asana routine). We learn about impermanence and allow impermanence to happen and accept the impermanence as it is. We learn to accept the ever-changing condition of the body as it is. We learn to let go of craving and aversion. We learn to let go of the ego.

When the body needs rest from the asana practice, I don’t do any asana practice for that time being. But yoga practice is always there continuously, in every moment, never ceased.

Here the asana poses were being held for a shorter period of time during the video recording and the resting time in between the asana poses was being edited for suitable viewing.

In my daily personal practice, it takes about 2 and a half hours to 3 hours to complete one session of asana practice. The asana poses are being held as long as my body feels like holding comfortably. The sun salutation is repeated minimum 10-20 rounds up to as many rounds as my body feels like doing. The resting time or relaxation in between the exercises or the asana poses is at least 15-30 seconds up to a few minutes depending on what type of exercises or poses and also depending on how my body feels after the exercise or the asana pose. The final relaxation is as long as my body wants to be completely at rest.

For the leg lift exercises usually I do as many times as my body can do. Sometimes I do more, sometimes I do less. There’s no need to count how many times. It is not important how many times we can lift the legs up, and it’s not that every one can keep the legs completely straight nor can open the legs as wide as some people do, it’s fine. Everyone has a different body type, different physical limitation, and different flexibility and strength. If the lower back is not strong enough or there’s some back problems, then put the palms down side by side under the buttocks to support the lower back. If there’s some injuries or physical limitations that you cannot perform certain exercises, then don’t do it or make some adjustments. Even if your body cannot perform any of the exercises or poses, you still can practice yoga.

Love and peace has nothing to do with whether our body is strong and flexible or not.

Yoga is not determined by how strong and flexible our body is. Yoga is not determined by how many times we can lift the legs up, nor how long we can stand on our head, nor how far our fingers can touch the toes. It’s about developing non-attachment and accepting the reality as it is at the present moment.

It doesn’t mean that we are “bad” or “weak” in practicing yoga if we can only do 5 leg lifts, and it doesn’t mean that we are very “good” or “strong” in practicing yoga if we can do 200 leg lifts. Just do whatever your body can do at the present moment when you are doing it. Every time or every practice it might be different. Sometimes the body is more energetic and sometimes it is less energetic. Sometimes it is more flexible and sometimes it is less flexible. That is the nature of impermanence.

Learn to be comfortable in all the exercises, not struggling and not forcing our body to go beyond its limitation. Relaxed into all the poses and hold as long as you can comfortably. Slowly the body will build up strength and flexibility.

Even if the body still not strong or flexible to perform certain poses after many years of practice, it’s fine. That doesn’t determine that we are good or bad in practicing yoga.

Learn to accept the condition of our body as it is, and be comfortable with our body as it is at the present moment now. Not comparing ourselves with our own past experience. Not projecting into the future what we want our body to become. Let the result or the benefits come naturally. Allow the strength and flexibility to come naturally. Even though we don’t know what are the benefits from doing the exercises or not having any expectation from doing the exercises, the benefits will still be there. It won’t increase when we know about it or have expectation. It won’t decrease nor disappear when we don’t know about it nor not having any expectation. Not comparing with other people nor try to become somebody else that we are not.

Be comfortable with ourselves for who we are, what we are, how we are, where we are, what we are doing and not doing, what we can do and cannot do. There’s no craving nor aversion. There’s no craving to become more strong, more flexible, more happy, more wise, or more peaceful… Because “we” are not determined by all these qualities… We are eternal peace itself. We don’t become peaceful or unpeaceful, that impermanent changing “peacefulness” and “unpeacefulness” is just the impermanent state of the mind… We are not the mind, but we are aware of all the states of the mind. There’s no aversion towards what we are now, how we are now, where we are now, what we are doing or not doing, what we can do or cannot do.

Peace is always there in us. It never increase nor decrease. This peace is not determined nor conditioned by the impermanent condition of our body or the ability of our body to do this or that…

Just practice. Keep practice. No judgment. No comparison, No expectation. No craving. No aversion.

I didn’t edit the part 10 – Headstand. The first few minutes is just basic headstand without any variations. Usually in a video that demonstrates headstand, it only shows about the variations of headstand moving in motion. I didn’t edit it to show that it is important to stay in the headstand without any variations for as long as possible and comfortably without checking on the time. It is not the time that matters, but being able to stay in the pose comfortably for a long period of time without the idea of time, without changing the pose or posture. This can train the body and mind to be patient and to develop strong determination and will-power.

It is essential to stay in the headstand for a minimum of 5-15 minutes for getting the effects or benefits of performing headstand. At the beginning, one may stay in the headstand just for a few seconds, and then keep practice until one can stay up to 5 – 10 minutes. It doesn’t matter if someone still cannot perform headstand after many times of practice, or someone who has some health complications or physical injuries that don’t allow him or her to perform headstand, know that this doesn’t determine whether we can practice yoga or not, or whether we are practicing yoga or not.

Peace, compassion and selflessness is nothing to do with the ability of our physical body to perform the asana poses/exercises. Anyone whether can perform headstand or not, can stay in headstand for a few seconds or for a few minutes, is still practicing yoga when they have unconditional love and peace, when they are selfless and compassionate, when they know non-attachment, when they have self-control over their own thoughts, actions and speech.

After coming down from headstand, it is important to stay in child pose for a few moments and then rest in savasan for a few minutes and then followed with some post-headstand counter poses like shoulderstand, plough and fish. This can help to release any muscles tightness that arise during headstand, and to balance up the energy fields and to ensure maximum benefits.

Om shanti.

It is not necessary that a spiritual giant should have a muscular body. The greatest Jnani may also be tubercular patient. There is no contradiction between the two.

一个灵性修行圣者未必会有强壮健全的身体。最伟大的智者也可能是结核病患者。两者之间并没有出现任何的矛盾。

Swami Sivananda

Anyway, a real yogi doesn’t need to labeling or naming or calling himself or herself a “yogi”…

There’s no “good” or “bad” yogi if he or she is a real yogi…

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all of you! Everyday and each moment is a new beginning and a new chance for us to do what we need to do. No need to look back, hold no regrets or disappointment... Appreciate and be grateful and enjoy the present moment now! Love and peace to all...

Om Shanti,

Meng Foong

Special relationship of the egret and the buffalo

A very special relationship between the egret and the buffalo...
It is like a loving couple trusting and comforting each other...

My Happiness

Happiness is myself. I am happiness. It is within me all the time. It is not something that I attained from outside. It’s not something to be gained or learned from the outside. It’s not something that I do or don’t do, like or don’t like, can do or cannot do. It is beyond happiness and unhappiness. It is beyond my mind, my intellect, my ego, my senses, my thoughts, my feelings, my sensations, my body and beyond all the names and forms that I can perceive with this mind. It is beyond like and dislike, comfort and discomfort, good and not good.

I am content with wherever I am, not longing to be somewhere else and not attached to be here either. I can be here or there. I am content with what I am, not longing to be what’s not me and not attached to be me either. I am not lack of anything. Not in search for anything. The void or emptiness is filled up with unlimited love and peace. I don’t feel happy, but I am happiness. I am one with happiness. It is not separated from me.

Before I realized this, I was still having some unhappiness that I couldn’t let go completely. I was still looking for happiness. I had tasted both happiness and unhappiness. But true happiness is beyond all these momentary happy and unhappy feelings. It is peaceful contentment in me that is undisturbed by all the happenings in my life and in the world. It is beyond any judgments and expectations. It is nothing to do with what my body and mind is experiencing all the time. It is nothing to do with all the good feelings, bad feelings, positive thoughts, negative thoughts, comfortable sensations or discomfortable sensations. Once I am beyond all these momentary impermanent phenomena, peacefulness is there. Love and peace filled up my entire consciousness. Everything is fine.

This happiness is unlimited and unconditioned by all the names and forms that are being given with all the good and bad qualities by our own mind. I am free not being determined by my body or my mind. I am free not being determined by what I do and don’t do. I am free not being determined by what I can do and cannot do. I am free not being determined by where I am and where I’m not. I am free not being determined by what I like and don’t like.

This is my happiness. I am free.

May you’ll be free too.

Mr & Mrs Marc De Faoite

Marc & Meng Foong

Be Happy

I wish all of you love and peace...

No need to look at other people's do or don't do, good or not good...

Just take care of our own hearts and be happy...

This is the one thing that will benefit other people and ourselves...

Happy Christmas To All

Happy Christmas to everyone...

I wish everyone love, peace, compassion and wisdom...

May all beings be happy...

Om Shanti, Meng Foong

This funky card is created by Marc.
Create your own funky card at CardFunk.

Beautiful Sunset

Everyday there's a different sunset...

There won't be another one exactly the same on every evening...

We can't find a perfect sunset because every sunset has its very own unique beauty...

Sometimes it is more beautiful and sometimes it is less beautiful...

The sky and the sun is always still the same one but due to the different forms of the clouds and moisture in the air, the sunsets are different every evening...

We can record each sunset in photos or in video clips, but it cannot be compared with that spectacular moments when we perceive the grand scenery of a beautiful sunset through our eyes at that present moment...

We can only admire... appreciate... and watching it disappear into dark night... and let it go.

Until tomorrow, there's another completely different scenery will appear in front of our eyes again...

Life is the same as this beautiful sunset...

Every moment is a different scenery, different experience...

Sometimes it is up and sometimes it is down...

The Self is always still the same one but due to the different layers of impurities, the consciousness is experiencing different modes and feelings...

There is no "take two" in life...

We can record our everyday lives in photos or in video clips, but it is not the same when we are actually experiencing every moment in our lives, especially the moments being with our loved ones... When we lose someone who we love so much, all the photos and video clips cannot bring back the same happiness...

We can only appreciate our lives and our loved ones while we all are still here, being able to love, care and share with each other... and do our best... Savour every moment we are having at this present moment now and live to the fullest... And let it go...

Be Happy...

Loving Kindness

Even Tom and Jerry can be nice to each other...

Why not human beings?

You are so beautiful

Laugh from your heart...

Don't be shy...

Don't be stingy...

You are so beautiful when your heart is happy...

Life is so beautiful when your heart is happy...

Smile

Life has been hard on you?

It's okay...

Smile... and let the sweetness of your smile softens the hardness of your life...

You are being loved always...

But what is more precious is that you are love itself...

Share your love and your smile with all...

Life will become softer and softer like a cotton bed...

Happiness

Open the window's curtains in your heart...

Let the light of happiness comes into your heart...

Everyone deserves the light of happiness...

But first, we need to allow the light to come through...

View from above

Different points of view create different perspectives...

Look at our life from a different direction, the scene is completely different...

Life is not as hard as we think it is...

Time off

Take a break from work, enjoy a good cup of tea...

Take a break from life, enjoy some good time off...

Life is good...

All The Same

Different colours, different varieties, different shapes, different tastes, different farms, different names... Some are sweet, some are sour... Every banana has a different taste... Yet they all are one thing called bananas...

Different languages, different races, different looks, different beliefs, different families, different nationalities... Some are happy, some are sad... Yet we all are one thing called human beings...

Bananas or human beings, we all depend on the sun, the wind, the water, the earth and the space to be here, to experience these different individual characteristics and to learn to share this space of the universe in harmony...

Be kind to all, life will be kind to us...

The Wall

There are so many beautiful things beyond the walls that we build for ourselves...

Look beyond these walls and realize, life is so beautiful...

Freedom

Freedom comes from detachment...

The whole universe is your home...

Retreat

Come back to yourself and be at peace...

Simplicity

Happiness derives from simplicity...