The Art Of Living

The following article from the book “Love and Wisdom” is read:
Art of Living
Our teaching is about the Art of Living. The Art of Living is integration of spirituality in day-to- day activities. The Art of Living allows us to live; it gives us life. The Art of Living is to be in the world but not of it. The Art of Living tells us how to not give importance to the individual mind and the Universal mind. The Art of Living teaches us how to live in this world and how to handle different situations in the world. The Art of Living not only eliminates the falsehood of body identification, it also eliminates the falsehood of believing this world is real. In our dedication to free ourselves or to have peace of mind, we have freed the whole world, because it is Universal. It is very hard for the mind to understand, but if you can trust Me, you will see that no other remedy has ever worked. Why hasn’t it worked? Because it was like we put a temporary ointment on a large, deep sore. So, what is the remedy? It is the elimination of the false... it is the elimination of the false... it is the elimination of the false...
Sat, November 2007
Radha: Here in Sat’s article She says, “if you trust Me, you will see that no other remedy has ever worked.” That is so true to me, as it was being read, my whole body was saying, “yes, that is so true.” Nothing else works.
Sat: When I say “Trust Me, no other remedy works,” I don’t mean that we are special. It only means that we are following the ancient Truth, no matter who says it and how they say it. Now, when I say that the other remedies do not work, it is because all the other remedies come from the same mind that has caused disease and discord. How can this contradiction of living bring any permanent remedy, unless you eliminate what is the cause of remedy and the cause of needing remedy?
That is what it means, by no means does it say “trust me.” When I say “trust Me,” it means trust the Truth, trust the “I.” I really, really believe that nothing else works, in My own personal life and in the collective lives that I have come across during My life. I have come to realize that it is just nonsense. It is never permanent joy, freedom and a healing effect. I wanted to make sure that [it is clear] this is nothing personal, it is just the Truth. Whoever has realized and expressed it, it is the same as what is being said here.
But the realization of it is the most important, so it’s not just the words that are being thrown in the air, there has to be a conviction and a realization to be able to say, as Radha was saying “I am convinced that it is true.” It is not because she trusts Me, it is because she sees it in her own life, and that is priceless.
Question: The Art of Living is integration of spirituality in day-to- day activities. The Art of Living allows us to live; it gives us life. The Art of Living is to be in the world but not of it. What does integration of spirituality in day-to-day activities mean for you and your life? Or, what does it mean for you to “be in the world, but not of it”?
Vijay: When I think of Art of Living, I view it as a period of life before Sat and after Sat, where you go through your day and after Sat, you have some foundation to return to. You can go through your day but you do have something to return to. You may have lapses that last hours, days or weeks but there is something you come back to. Hopefully little by little the lapses become shorter and shorter. Before you had nothing to return to, there were weeks, months and years where you just go with everything.
Radha: Just waiting for the next disaster.
Sat: Yes, I really agree, because [for] the life of a person that works full time, the Art of Living takes a different shape [for] than someone who is in more of a position of a householder. For a man or a woman who works full time to realize that is extremely important, because when you are working, you work. But when the stories of work start piling [up] and distract you from doing the quality of work that you like to do, like Vijay said, you have an anchor. It is not like before where you get so moved or swayed by all the stories around the problem. Then little by little you see that whatever comes in front of you there is no resistance, you shoot the ball. But when the stories begin to bog you down, you remember your anchor, you go back to stability and that is something that I wish every man and woman who works full time would learn. And that really is Art of Living; Art of Living is not to have these differences when you are working to say, “Oh… I should have meditated … I should be meditating … I should have more peace…” etc. No, you work, but so many other things around your work get eliminated- the worry, the concern, the resistance, the stories, this and that. And then you are aware that when you are doing too much, it’s too much. You are aware; you are beginning to have mastery of your own recognization, so when that happens you know to pull back, maybe even to take off for a few hours. But that’s when the reign of the horses of the mind is in your hand now, you can let it go and achieve, or you can pull it back and find balance.
To Me this is really precious; particularly in the western society where work is money and money is survival. Whereas in other countries it doesn’t play that strong of a role. I agree, we are all having an anchor that is unmovable; it is an eternal anchor and the more we remember that we do have this, that we do have a technique to untangle ourselves, the more we are in the Art of Living. Living in the world and not of it are two sides of the same coin.
Adrienne: I had a situation happen this week at work that disturbed me and I had to deal with being angry and it was a great challenge. When we had our discussion on Thursday when Sat was talking about being simple minded, I got to practice being simple even though there was something that kept coming back to grab my attention mentally. I had an amazing couple of moments where I felt that everything around me was a gift just for me that I had been ignoring and when I was able to try to be simple-minded, I just realized all the gifts laid out for me that I had been ignoring.
Sat: Oh beautiful, that’s music to My ears. That is so true, a moment of reflecting on the Truth you heard and staying opens up so much grace, just that very moment. And in that very split second, you eliminated all sorts of regret, all sorts of tension. As we pull out the Truth that is within our own heart that we have heard and realized that it is there, in very critical moments, like you said, we realize that these types of pushing the buttons of each other is like the story of the sweeper that I told in My classes a long time ago. Meaning that it is again another opportunity if we can come out of it victoriously; if we don’t, next time we will. But if we can do it at that moment, it is a huge boost of real self-confidence, in your real Self and it is precious, really precious.
-Reno Center 10/17/21