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Advice, again, for men: It is easier for you to be impersonal. Therefore, in your search for God, dwell more on thoughts of infinity, of freedom from ego, of desire for the well-being of all. Let your search be more for His Bliss than for His love. Think in terms of serving others self-expansively.Support the show

Advice for women: There are two very different ways of relating to men. Flirtation is an easy way of winning them, and success may give you a sense of power over them. That power is delusive, however. Men will subconsciously resent you for drawing on their energy, even if they aren’t sensitive enough to understand the reason for their resentment. If your behavior toward them is more self-giving—like that of a mother, or a friend—you will increase their energy, and they will always appreciate you. This is why women in India are spoken of as men’s shakti (strength, or energy). As temptresses, however, they are not shakti, but ashakti.Support the show

Advice for men: If you maintain a certain reserve in the presence of women, they will always respect you.Support the show

When presenting your ideas, illustrate them with familiar examples. The closer to home, the easier they will be to understand. Children, for example, are often told the pleasant myth that there is a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow. Show them how to test the truth of this claim. Suggest they dig at the end of the rainbow which appears in the spray of a garden sprinkler. Could there really be gold there? Tell them, “Dig there and see for yourselves.”Support the show

Eat a balanced diet. A good formula for doing so is to select foods that are varied in color: the deeper the color, usually, the richer their energy.Support the show

Every time you inhale, imagine yourself inhaling energy. Pranayama (a yoga practice) means not only “breath control,” but “control of energy.” As air fills your lungs, feel your entire being—body, mind, feelings, aspirations—swelling with energy and joy.Support the show

Make inner freedom your primary goal in life. See every binding desire or attachment as a rope tying your balloon of consciousness to the ground. Sever those ropes, and exclaim vigorously with each slash, “You can hold me no longer! My place is high in the sky, soaring over seas and continents on breezes of pure bliss.”Support the show

Ideas should be presented with simple, grounding examples. Try never to offer mere abstractions. The more specific you can be, the clearer your concepts will be to yourself, and the clearer also the understanding you convey to others. When describing waves on a vast ocean, for example, first see them clearly in your mind. Hear them; feel them. That clear visualization will help you to make your presentation more vivid.Support the show

White is a blend of all the colors of the rainbow. If the energy moves up the spine toward the brain, white can inspire a consciousness of purity. If that energy withdraws passively into the spine, however, white may suggest a bland lack of interest. Choose white to develop non-attachment to worldliness. Don’t choose it if your nature is too passive.Support the show

Violet is the color of high thoughts, high principles, noble aspirations. This color will help you to rise out of the lower emotions into the realization that you, in your true Self, are pure Spirit. Violet in its negative aspects can erect a psychic wall between yourself and the earthly realities around you, making your ideals unrealistic and impractical.Support the show

Indigo implies pure feelings, and the love of beauty in all its manifestations. Choose this color to deepen your love for others, and for God, as well as your appreciation for everything good in life. Indigo has its negative aspects, however, especially for those whose emotions take them downward. Don’t let indigo generate in you attitudes of rejection or withdrawal.Support the show

Blue is the color of expansive calmness. If it lacks warmth, however, its effect on the feelings can be chilling. (Think of the expression, “steely blue.”) This color, therefore, should also be given a touch of warmth to keep its influence uplifting and devotional. Blue is a good color for meditation.Support the show

Green is the color of health and harmony; it is most visible among growing things. Green gives a heightened sense of physical and mental well-being. Where there is a focus on health, however, there can also be one on ill health. Unpleasant shades of green can disturb the feelings. Green, therefore, is associated also with harmful emotions such as envy and jealousy.Support the show

Yellow is the color of wisdom, insight, and calm acceptance. This color can also, however, be disturbing for those who shrink from meeting challenges. If what you seek in life is progress, yellow may help you to become more creative. An impure yellow, however, can have a somewhat sickening effect on the mind.Support the show

The color orange suggests fire. It helps one to generate enthusiasm for destroying all desires and attachments. It can also be irritating, however, especially if one tends toward placidity. And orange can feed a tendency to cry out to people, “Look at me!” Think of workers on the roads. They purposely wear orange to be noticed, so that cars won’t hit them.Support the show

The color red can be cheerful. It can also—especially if it is muddy—stimulate to lust or anger. If red resonates with you, make sure that it affects you in the right way, by making you brighter, more cheerful, happier.Support the show

The colors of the rainbow have not only a visual impact. They can also affect you vibrationally, when they resonate with the field of energy surrounding you—that is to say, your aura. Surround yourself with pure colors. Muddy hues can obscure mental clarity. Bright hues can induce brighter emotions. Colors should resonate with your nature as it is, and with the qualities you would like to develop in yourself.Support the show

Select music for its pleasing or uplifting melody, rhythm, and harmony. A melody can do more than entertain: it can uplift; it can fill you with longing; or, alternatively, it can depress you. A rhythm can calm, invigorate, or disturb the nervous system. Harmony can evoke deep, calm feelings of peace, love, and happiness, or incite to anger, haunt with loneliness, torment with anxiety. Choose your music wisely, for its influence on you can be deep. A woman once tried to commit suicide. She had a near-death experience in which she found herself in a hellish region where the vibrations, as she reported later, were very similar to the beat of heavy rock ’n’ roll music. Later, she devoted her life to warning people against the insidious influence of such self-lowering music.Support the show

True happiness is not the fruit of years of painful struggle and anxiety. It is a long succession, rather, of little decisions simply to be happy in the moment. As my Guru said, “The minutes are more important than the years.”Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ashanayaswami)

There are two kinds of innocence: that of ignorance, and that of wisdom. A little girl, asked once by a little boy, “Are you a virgin?” replied, “No; not yet.” Hers was the innocence of ignorance. Such innocence may in time be undermined. The innocence of wisdom, however, follows upon the complete conquest of ego. Such innocence, though childlike, can never be undone. Its strength, though flexible, is indomitable.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ashanayaswami)