2. The tendency to worry about things that cannot be changed or corrected.
3. Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it.
4. Refusing to set aside trivial preferences.
5. Neglecting development and refinement of the mind, and not acquiring the habit of reading and studying.
6. Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.
Do not make an effort to impress others or to express yourself. Your effort to impress someone will be futile. Your effort to express yourself becomes an impediment. If you do not try to impress, expression comes naturally. When you come from the Self, your expression will be perfect and your impression lasts for ages.
Often you do not seem to have a control over your impressions and expressions. Wisdom is selecting your impressions and expressions. Enlightenment is when you do not have any impressions at all, whether good or bad. Then you "master" the art of expression. Many impressions in the mind cause confusion, distraction, chaos, an inability to focus, and ultimately, degrangement of the mind. Nature has built into us a system through which we release some of the impressions - through dreams and meditation.
You lose depth, luster, and your serenity with excessive expression. Meditation erases the impressions and improves the expression.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
- Calcutta, India. April 2, 1998.
Our Mission
To strengthen the individual and society by offering programs inspired by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar that eliminate stress, create a sense of belonging, restore human values, develop life to its full potential, and encourage people from all backgrounds to come together in celebration, wisdom, and service
The Art of Living Course
The Art of Living Course gives participants the practical knowledge and techniques to unlock their deepest potential and bring fullness to life. Whether happy and successful or feeling the stress of poor health, disappointments, or fear, every participant is cared for and comes away lighter, with effective techniques for releasing mental and physical stress and increasing his or her health, energy, peace, self-knowledge, awareness, and joy.
|
* Practices that heal and harmonize the body, mind, and spirit |
Experience Peace of Mind
Much of the stress or limitations in life come from vacillating between regret about the past or worry about the future. And yet, the present is the only place that happiness can be experienced. A remarkable feature of the course is that participants are able to re-discover the present moment — not as a concept but as a direct experience.
Simple Techniques for Daily Life
Participants leave with simple but powerful techniques they can practice every day, and an extraordinary weekly group practice is available in many areas. These practices are sacred treasures that grow in value over the years, helping the benefits continue to blossom in daily life.
Sudarshan Kriya: The masterpiece of the Art of Living Course is a powerful breathing-based technique called Sudarshan Kriya, or the healing breath. Sudarshan Kriya incorporates specific natural rhythms of breath to release stress and bring the mind to the present moment. The course also includes other breathing techniques, meditation, low-impact yoga, and skills for dealing effectively with challenging emotions and situations.
Several independent studies on the numerous mental and physical health benefits of the course have been published in international peer-reviewed journals and confirm what participants commonly report.
The Art of Living Course has been enjoyed by people of all traditions, religions, and walks of life, in universities, churches, governments, businesses, prisons, war zones, community rooms, and living rooms. The course is complete in itself and is also a foundation for other Art of Living programs.
The goal is to let every individual realize their potential. To live life fully and freely is an art, requiring skill, intuition, creativity, and knowledge. Art of Living, through its many innovative programs, brings these values to our society by strengthening the individual.
We do this by offering programs that eliminate stress, create a sense of belonging, restore human values, and encourage people from all backgrounds, religions, and cultural traditions to come together in celebration and service.
Service or Seva is at the core. The amount of charitable work undertaken by the organization is tremendous and I feel happy to be part of this.
www.artofliving.org“If you are not happy, upset, sad:
1. Know: Everything is changing. It is impermanent. It’s a passing phenomenon. Have conviction about this.
2. You have the capacity to face it. You are much more powerful than a situation or problem that is in front of you.
3. Look at those who have greater problems than you. People in Sri Lanka, people in Iraq, even here in inner city areas - see what crisis or problem they have. And do something for them. When you start doing something, then your problem will appear like nothing, miniscule. Your problem will get solved…because it appears like nothing big.
4. Know: You have always been helped. Haven’t you been helped? Look back and see…Have that faith: I will get help. I will move through it. Nature will take care. God will take care… It will be handled.
5. See: In this whole cosmos, everything is nothing. Every particle is nothing. I am nothing, we are nothing, this is all nothing. A few moments of that awareness that everything is nothing brings enormous strength and courage in you. And love… See when you are angry, you say ‘I give up.’ When that comes from knowledge, the ‘I give up’…intense prayer happens: I can’t handle this. I give up.”
