Treat the other in the way you want to be treated yourself

~ A text by Irma ten Brink inspired by the work of Yoginâm ~

Letting go of yourself…

For about fourteen years I have been privileged to share my life with and take care of a very special horse. On the day I met him, I immediately decided to take up the responsibility of taking care of him, it felt like we belonged together. He knew it, I knew it. And from that moment on our relationship started to grow, and it grew stronger every day. Three years ago I had to let him go, but I still am picking the fruits of that beautiful relationship and I am grateful for what he has taught me over the years.

Two lessons I like to share with you since they have been a great help in my spiritual endeavor.

1. Always, when the horse does not do what you are asking from him, don’t blame the horse but look at yourself and find the answers there.
2. Through the love I felt for this horse a very strong intention grew inside me: ‘I want only the best life possible for this horse’. This feeling is the step for letting go of yourself by making the other more important. This has been the (often unconscious) driving force in all we have been through together and all the decisions I made. The horse became my mirror and through watching him, being with him and taking care of him I learned to know myself and saw what I was creating; in the end that was a very free, healthy and natural life, leader of his own herd, I believe he was happy as was I :). Although not aware how I was creating I did become aware my intention was in a mysterious way a driving force. Humans are creative beings and by creative Imagination we create. This is not only a creation for ourselves, it is much wider.

 

Now what does this have to do with the spiritual endeavour?

Those who are drawn to a serious spiritual endeavour are preparing themselves for the big ‘Letting Go’. By practicing letting go, again the right intent is here the driving force, you let go of your self-importance, your attachment to ideas, habitual programmes and beliefs. Becoming free in the true sense. This practice of Letting Go is what they also call ‘the letting go of yourself’ which of course does not mean that at the end you will go up in smoke :).

For about 14 years I have lived my life community wise. This means you live together with people, not necessarily of your choosing or liking, and you have to make the best of it.

The two lessons already learned from my horses were very helpful.

1. Whenever I got into trouble with someone I did not start to argue or fight about something, also did not blame them for things they did wrong (or at least I tried not too), no, I withdrew myself into contemplation and searched for answers and asked for help inwardly. Really it saved me from a lot of trouble and helped me to solve difficulties in a harmonious way.
2. Communal intentions and a ‘higher’ goal meaning beyond myself and personal longings, caused me to transcend myself to more refined states of living. Consequently this had positive effects on others too. And since the others with whom I am living share the same intentions and way of living, their practice has consequences for them, me and others too. Through these intentions we are creating. We are aware that we are creating anyway just by living. We decided to create something beautiful.

 

Along this way of living in a community I also discovered something else

It appeared to be impossible to learn to know the other. However observing the other, also that which I did not like, taught me much about myself. The power of the community is the possibility of learning to know yourself. Before you can let go of yourself you have to know yourself and transform yourself. This is a phase you cannot skip even though many people try :)! This because only through this transformation slowly you start to let go of yourself…

 

A dualistic world view is very detrimental

When you look at life from a dualistic world view you will start having problems with this. For example if you see the other as separate from yourself and you apply the first suggestion: ‘not to blame the other’ you will start blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong. This gives a feeling of failure and eventually depression (to avoid these feelings we rather blame the other).

 

Let’s try another worldview, why not?!

Just consider, like many have done before you, that everything is sharing in a wholeness,  wholeness into infinity, ungraspable and impossible to explain or talk about but still, just assume that you are part of this unknown..…

Then the other person is also part of this, right? Into infinity means there is nothing you can put outside it…Not even your worst nightmares!

If so and you’re still with me here…then stop trying and embrace whatever is there. It is not wrong or anything it just merely is!

Then, from this worldview, you are that other as well is he is you…

So the well being of that other is just as important as yours…

And the problems of the other are also yours in a sense…

And if the other is you then naturally you will treat the other in the way you want to be treated yourself …

As soon as your worldview starts to shift to this infinitely wide worldview, your intentions are starting to become wider too.
Less selfish and more directed to the whole of which you are part.

For that you have to let go of the illusion that you are a separate being who has to defend himself, has to fight, has to gain power and wealth and other kind of selfish longings.

 

Just imagine…

Just imagine that more people would start having this worldview with intentions bigger then for personal gain, higher goals, less personal and more in line with what is good for the whole in which all is sharing in all, and then to make it even bigger: imagine all these people were mirroring each other, could we then be creating a whole other world?!

Just think about it and consider for a moment….

If it can happen in a small community, why could it not happen in a big world?

Now the big question: will you just let me go on dreaming or will you help me to make this dream come true?! What other plans do you have for your life? And the lives of your children?

 

The meaning of Life

According to the LivingNâm Vision the meaning of life is about transforming natural ignorance (the state in which you are born) into the realisation of Wisdom and Well-Being.

Take a moment and contemplate on that…

Ask yourself the question, what do I really want with my life? What am I longing for? What goal would I like to reach before I die?

If that answer would be Wisdom and Well-Being then I suggest to you not to waste any time and to go and search for that! Find out yourself how you can reach that in life!