Every Tuesday night, Anand Ashram Foundation (affiliated with UN) conducts a meditation training: Neo Self Empowerment. This program is opened for public and can be followed by everybody. On December 20, 2011, the event was attended by dozens of participants to practice self-empowerment. They came to empower themselves so that they can reach a happy life.
Exercise menu at that evening was Sight Culturing. A method to empower us in improving the art of correcting the wrong ideas. Culturing Sight is one of more than 300 exercises that were formulated by Anand Krishna. A spiritual leader and the founder of Anand Ashram.
Dian Martin guided meditation exercise at that evening. He told an inspiring story. One day, a father took his daughter for a walk. When arriving at a corner of the road, the father parked the car. Then, he took his daughter to a certain place. But the daughter kept looking back. Through the car’s window, he looked toward the highway. Then he said, “Daddy, why did the cars behind follow us?”
The father was stunned at the question of his 3 years old daughter. Indeed, the view largely determines a person’s thinking. If we looked at the cars following, then the ego will rise. But if the view means the cars were moving because of one common goal, then all will be fine.
We often became arrogant because of our mistaken in viewing a reality. In fact, we are often misled by those views. So that we were in troubles. As the consequences of our own mistakes.
Anand Krishna often reminded that the contents of a glass is half empty or half full, mostly depended on our view. If we see the glass is half full, then we will feel lucky. If the glass was seen half-empty, then we will feel suffer. It all comes to our perspective.
Dian added, “What we see and hear affects our mind. Thought affects our life.” Dian also confirmed two questions to know whether we already have the right vision or not yet, “Are we happy?” And last but not least, “Does our happiness make others feel happy also?”
Self Correction
Regularly, every day there are meditation training programs in Anand Ashram. After Culturing Sight’s meditation, there was a sharing session. The participants told what they have felt since practicing the exercise. Most of them got many benefits. So that they could analyze themselves and experience a better life.
According to Dian, practice of meditation can expand our self-awareness. This awareness included to correct ourselves. So someone can find an answer to his/her problem. Because essentially we are alone than can solve the problem.
With full of glowing faces, the participants returned to their homes. See you again next Tuesday with another different exercise.
[Source : http://anandashram.or.id/index.php?id=programs/semedi1]
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(Reporter and Photographer: Su Rahman, Editor and Translator: T. Nugroho)
