February 25, 2009
The Courage to Stand Up

Think you have a challenge or two ahead of you? Do you feel hopeless sometimes and find it hard getting back on your feet? Need a reminder about the courage, commitment, and resilience that dwell deep within you?

Check this out. You can do it! Yes you can!

Photo by Live and Learn

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:41 AM | Comments (0)

February 20, 2009
HAFIZ: Where Dolphins Dance

Again, the work starts as soon as you open your eyes in the morning.

Hopefully you got some good rest last night. Why go into the city or the fields without first kissing the Friend who always stands at your door? It takes only a second.

Habits are human nature. Why not create some that will mint gold? Your arms are violin bows always moving. I have become very conscious upon whom we all play.

Thus my eyes have filled with warm soft oceans of divine music where jeweled dolphins dance, then leap into this world.

Excerpted from The Subject Tonight Is Love by Daniel Ladinsky.

Photo by Kalandrakas. Thanks to Larry Lustbader for forwarding this poem...

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:13 AM | Comments (0)

February 19, 2009
VIDEO: Allow Your Heart to Be Filled With Gratitude

Eight minutes of Maharaji speaking with the elderly and physically challenged -- in both Hindi and English. Very inspiring.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:33 PM | Comments (1)

February 16, 2009
Outsource This!

Need more time in your life? Feeling overwhelmed by your day job and other "worldly responsibilities?"

Check this out...

In an extraordinary move, destined to be emulated by movers and shakers everywhere, I've just outsourced all my sleep to a guy named Namdev in New Delhi. Yes, it's true. I no longer need to sleep. Namdev does it for me. It's astounding how much more productive I've been this week.

And, as if my sleep breakthrough wasn't enough, I've also outsourced all my exercise to a guy named Sung Lee in Malaysia. God bless Sung Lee! He's been on the treadmill three hours today, as I understand it, and will be working on our delts and pecs tomorrow. Needless to say, I'm feeling exceptionally buff at the moment.

I was just about to have a big piece of cherry cheesecake to celebrate my innovative, time-saving enhancements, but I've... er... outsourced my eating to a woman named Min Yung in Taiwan. I'm down to about 145 pounds, but I'm feeling absolutely psyched about the new contract I just got from GE. Starts next month. Wind generators in Malaysia!

The only thing I haven't outsourced this week is this blog and a visit to my dentist. (Do any of you know someone willing to get a root canal on my behalf?)

PS: While there's nothing inherently wrong with outsourcing (or delegating, for that matter), it's not the heart of the matter. For that, we need to go within.

Insourcing is the name of the game. Not outsourcing.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 05:20 PM | Comments (1)

February 15, 2009
VIDEO: The Power That We Have

(Thanks to David Klamph for forwarding this link)

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 07:25 AM | Comments (0)

February 14, 2009
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

May I stay here forever
in this perfect place of peace with you --
the sacred space
between in breath and out,
the final coming home,
timeless moment before the need
for anything has risen,
Buddha enjoying his late afternoon nap
with no one around
to extract any meaning from it.
First, there is a breath,
then there is a second.
This is how I begin my
long walk with you by the water's edge,
cool white sand beneath both our feet.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:02 PM | Comments (2)

February 13, 2009
EXCERPTS: Maharaji in Tel Aviv

On February 11th, at Tel Aviv University, about 900 Israelis, Palestinians and other assorted human beings came together to listen to the timeless message of Prem Rawat (aka Maharaji). What follows are excerpts of his talk as recalled by Jan Buchalter. Please note that these excerpts are close approximations of what Maharaji said that night and are not necessarily verbatim.

"I am the voice for all those who are silent, for all those who pray, for all those who hope for peace. For the 6.88 billion people who silently yearn, I am that voice."

"It is not about me, but that through me you may hear your own heart."

HIGHLIGHTS OF MAHARAJI'S MESSAGE IN TEL AVIV

"Reach deep within and quench your thirst. The aspect of this love, this thirst, is that it keeps increasing. Drink as much as you wish, for these waters are drenching the Earth, cascading down and filling, filling, filling to overflowing."

"One day, we will have to return to this dirt. It is the miracle of breath alone that separates us from the dirt we are destined for. So before it's too late, before missing what you have no longer, try appreciating what you have right now in front of you."

"Make no doubt about it. You are real. So much may be fake around us, but our life, our being alive, is a divine act of God. We should know this."

"Fidgeting and fumbling our way through life is not the way. Breathing in that loveliest aroma, surrounded by comfort, resting in contentment, and riveted in love's singular canal where the ebb and flow of the current keeps washing over you, is what we are meant to experience."

"You are not who you think you are. 'But what about all my years of studying for med school, or to be a lawyer?' you may think. Go beyond that! Go back to your simplicity -- the simplicity of this river of breath."

"Have you ever smelled the perfume of God?"

(Photo by A.M.Slater)

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:38 AM | Comments (2)

February 12, 2009
DOWNLOAD THIS: Maharaji in Sicily

Every year the citizens of Agrigento, Sicily celebrate the Festival of the Almond Blossom. This year the festival was celebrated in a unique way. Prem Rawat (aka Maharaji), Ambassador of Peace, was invited by the local government to light the torch and then speak to the people of Agrigento.

"So many nations have come and gone," Maharaji said, upon opening the ceremony. "But throughout history there were always voices begging for peace. Were they heard? I don't know. Were they listened to? I don't know. But I do know that we are here to make a voice for that peace."

Click here to download a beautiful pdf of the event, created by the very talented Wendy Lewis.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 09:01 PM | Comments (2)

Sneakers

Here's one of the simplest ways I can think of to describe the value that Maharaji (aka Prem Rawat) provides a human being.

This morning I was just about to leave my house and drive to my local health club when I realized I couldn't find my sneakers. I looked in my backpack where I usually stash them. They weren't there. I looked on the shoe rack. They weren't there, either. I looked in the hallway, the mudroom, the kitchen, and closet. Not there, not there, not there, and not there.

Then I looked down. Doh! I was wearing them!

What Maharaji does is show people what they already have, but aren't necessarily conscious of. Me? In my life? I was looking everywhere else for what seemed to be lost -- in places, in things, in people, in books ... but I couldn't find it anywhere.

Then Maharaji showed me where to look -- and what was waiting for me there. Voila!

Ah... I can hear my dear, sweet mother now. "Mitchell, for this, you're making such a big deal? A man who showed you what you already had? Oy vey!"

My mom's reaction, God bless her, is similar to the way many people describe a consultant: "Someone who tells you the time with your own watch."

But here's where the comparison breaks down. Maharaji doesn't just tell me the time... he tells me the timeless. And far beyond telling, he shows me.

(Oh, by the way, I made it to my health club and read People Magazine on the Stairmaster)

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:35 AM | Comments (0)

February 11, 2009
VIDEO: Thirst

Video by Garik from Slovenia. Thanks to Cindy Lategan for the link.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 07:54 AM | Comments (0)

February 10, 2009
Jumping for Joy

A few months ago I had a beautiful dream. I was a guest at Prem Rawat's residence, along with a bunch of other people and was walking around his very spacious grounds when, out of the blue, he signals me to climb an extremely tall tree. In a flash, I find myself climbing, branch over branch until I reach the top. Thrilled, I raise my arms high overhead in a classic "I did it!" pose when suddenly Prem signals me to JUMP into the pool below. The pool, however, is very far away -- way further away than even the best of jumps could ever possibly come close to. A wave of fear comes over me, but I decide to jump anyway. As I do, the pool moves towards me. I land in the center. Splash!

PHOTO: Courtesy of TimelessToday

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:46 AM | Comments (1)

February 08, 2009
VIDEO: Maharaji in Agrigento

This just in from Italy -- mostly in Italian. So go on down to your local Italian restaurant and ask for a translation. (Hmmm... not a bad way to let people know about Maharaji's message). Fettucine for everyone!

PS: If you DO get this video translated, let me know what happens and we'll post a few stories here...

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:06 PM | Comments (0)

February 07, 2009
Maharaji in Agrigento, Italy

This just in from Agrigento, a city on the southern coast of Sicily. Details to follow. Stay tuned.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 08:46 AM | Comments (3)

February 05, 2009
Feel What You Cannot Think About

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Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:25 AM | Comments (0)

February 04, 2009
"Every act of creation is, first of all, an act of destruction." - Pablo Picasso

No one likes change. No one likes chaos. No one likes starting all over again -- especially the older we get. Get over it, folks! The only way the species survives is by adapting to change -- and change is what's upon us now. The economy is crumbling. The old institutions are dying. Nothing, on the outside, ever stays the same. Picasso knew this. YOU know this, too. So, let the old forms die. Let what no longer works fade away. Then, help usher in the birth of WHAT'S NEXT that will emerge -- before that, too, fades away... only to be replaced by what's next after what's next. And the wheel goes round and round...

(Thanks to Dalit Fresco for the idea for this posting)

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 05:23 PM | Comments (0)

February 03, 2009
Homegrown Words of Wisdom

Thank you to David Gittlin for these words of wisdom -- his own.

What you believe to be your upper limit is only the cracked ceiling you have been staring at for too long. You can go higher. Guaranteed.

Surrendering to self-doubt is the same thing as making a deal with the devil. Instead, make a deal with your dream and soar.

God never says, "I hear ya' knockin' but you can't come in." Keep knocking.

If you want to be great, stop trying to fit in.

The greatest challenge is to enjoy the process of getting from here to there.

Get to know the genius inside you on a first name basis. It is necessary to develop a tough mind as we mature, but not at the expense of a sensitive heart.

Don't judge yourself by the bad things you've done. Focus on the good thing you are about to begin.

The secret to lasting happiness is a heart full of love connected to a mind full of positive thoughts.

Photo by RJeudin

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:50 AM | Comments (0)