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Being Still with the Help of Numerology
"The rush and pressure of a modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone
in everything is to succumb to violence." --Thomas Merton
In this column we will be talking about Numerology and "being still."
Spiritually speaking, the act of "being still" can help you to settle down your mind. It can help you to momentarily step out of an intimidating world. Who knows what a moment of peace can do for you? One of the best things that you can do around "being still" is that you can design a regular ritual
around it. For me, this is not a complicated thing. One of my favorite 'quiet spots' is a local coffee house. I sip my coffee and enjoy a quiet moment, even though the rest of the world zooms by around me.
For you, a "being still" ritual might simply allow you to bring quiet into your life on a regular basis. Your own practice can be big, small, simple or complex, depending on how active your life is. Most importantly, this can be a way to bring compassion into your life. This may help to dissolve
your negative beliefs about yourself. You may then feel more compelled to act on the call of your soul.
Developing compassion will allow you to forgive your mistakes. Of course, having compassion for yourself, may take a great deal of courage and stamina. I find it intriguing that Buddhist author, Pema Chodrin says: "The essence of bravery is being without self-deception." Compassion, self reflection
and stillness can help you to see your life more clearly. When you are finally willing to settle down, you may see that certain parts of your life may not be working as well as you wanted to believe.
How can we use compassion to look deeper? Within Numerology, we have talked about your personal numbers, including your Soul Number, many times. By now, you probably know all about your strengths and weaknesses. I think that you should view your Numerological profile or any spiritual profile with a
compassionate heart. This may help you to honestly self-reflect. All too often, in today's world, we over analyze. It is one thing to know that you may have a tendency toward being critical or bossy person. However, it is another thing to use that knowledge to hinder yourself or your spiritual
growth. Have compassion for yourself.
Now, I mentioned Pema Chodren, because she teaches a method of meditation called Tonglen. Tonglen can be a strong part of a "being still" ritual. Indeed, a Tonglen meditation practice can be used as a method for connecting with your compassion. Tonglen allows you to connect with and change the
anguish that is in your life and the world around you. It is a simple meditation in which you can help to transform suffering into healing. It can be extremely powerful. A simple
explanation is that, as part of a meditation, you might imagine yourself breathing in dark (pain) and breathing it out as light (health).
I think that if you are trying to "be still", you may be trying to find simple ways to find meaning and joy in your daily life. I think that if you use some of your still time to reflect how you are feeding your soul, you can do well. Your Soul Number may be your first personal number that you look
at for this purpose.
In a compassionate manner, you may then begin to use your still time to reflect on how certain personal tendencies may have served you throughout your life. You might not be happy about having them, but they may have protected or served you in some way, at one point in time. For myself, I have been
looking at my needs and tendencies toward structure, for a very long time. On one hand, I like things to be logical and organized, yet I am often very disorganized. Others may have similar difficulties.
I try to use compassion in the way in which I judge my organization skills. I could be very critical of myself. Uncontrolled self-criticism could lead to a lowering of self-esteem, shying away from personal responsibility and never trying to take on leadership roles. We all have compassionate work
to do with our own self-esteem. Your Soul Number illustrates how you see yourself, so as you reflect compassionately on it, you may begin to see that a certain trait that you might have perceived as negative or unwanted, has really been a strong ally in your life.
For instance, someone with a strong desire for an active social life, and this includes those of us with Soul Number of 2 or 3, may worry that a desire for an active social life hinders their family life. If you are one of these people, then your inner drive generally revolves around neighborhood,
community, relationships and communication. You enjoy having a good time, networking, parties, and being popular. Yet you may see this as an avoidance of family life. There is a possibility that
you can get wrapped up in the social world and avoid other obligations. A compassionate task for you might be to simply sit and see how your social skills have served. Perhaps you can imagine the faces of all the people you have helped, with the benefit of these skills. Of course, you may still want
to look at which obligations you tend to avoid or push aside.
What if you have a different issue? Perhaps you are a person who does not like change. Indeed, those of us with Soul numbers of 1, 4, 6 and 8 often have intense, inner battles with change. A compassionate task for these people, might be to look at their lives and recognize how their strong drive to
be honest, responsible and caring, have helped them to keep their families together and businesses running smoothly.
Now, after a while, you may be ready to look at your other numbers, including your Outer number, with compassion as well. Be patient though. For some, it may be a challenging task. This number does reflect how others see you. When you look at yourself, through the eyes of others, you may have an
urge to be overly critical. Learn to use your quiet time, to carefully and compassionately evaluate how you think others perceive you. Perhaps, you have tendencies that you would like to change. With compassion, time and awareness you can improve yourself.
With compassion, you can begin to build a solid foundation for your life. You can then become an example for others. Instead of tearing down, you can build up. You can develop your own "being still" ritual, which may even incorporate Tonglen. The work that you do can help you to develop a trust in
yourself and your abilities. I believe that as you begin to look deeper within your soul, you will begin to have greater compassion for yourself and others. You will also begin to see yourself in a new light. All it takes to begin is a moment of peace.
Good luck on your journey into Soulful living and Numerology
Copyright © 2005 Rob Ragozzine. All
Rights Reserved.
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