Sunday, 21 November 2010

INTERVIEW with Artist ANNA EWA MIARCZYNSKA

She is mysterious and expressive as much as her art. She is very approachable. To have a conversation with her is easy, but to really understand what she is trying to say and express, is not for everyone’s aptitude.
Anna Ewa Miarczynska is a Polish artist born and raised in Warsaw, Poland. Her artwork is spread around the world in various ways. She paints, she draws, she goes deep within the core of her being to deliver the message about you in a manner least expected to you, and she enjoys every single moment of it.
I have met Anna Ewa Miarczynska sometime in London during one of her Art exhibitions in June 2010. I immediately became mesmerised with her art, with her persona and her view to life so much so I felt inspired to further continue our communication...

Your Drawings and Paintings are spiritually deep and soulful. Where does your spirituality and certain view to Life come from?

I remember a scene from my childhood: vacation time, a bonfire at night, people… I walk away; I lie down on the ground and stare at the starry sky. I try to penetrate the darkness, endless space and all the secrets they might conceal. I want to reach these stars, the planets, meet the beings that inhabit them and maybe myself... I am a sparkle flashed for a moment or a tiny speck of dust, suspended in the endless space between the past and the future, but who I was before I was born, what or who will I be after I die - I don’t know. I might disappear and so will my consciousness. And then I screamed yet no sound was heard. I was full of rebellious feelings, feelings of unfairness – that I will never get to know „What This Is All About” and that I will not reach all corners of the universe. I questioned if my life has emerged for a split moment only for me to see only a fraction of all this, to be teased.

Then I started growing, maturing... I was in a hurry most of the time and so I looked at the sky less often. My questions hid somewhere in my pockets, but my „scream” from the childhood must have been ear-splitting, some beings in the universe must have heard it, they waited for the right moment to appear in my life and remind me of My Big Question… Or maybe they were there beside me all the time and waited for the right moment for Me to be ready to hear the answers (because they cannot interfere with life and development of any being). And it turned out that it is a Beginning, that there is no end, there is always something more... But the most important thing for now is that I can get an answer to every question, that the answer is in me and I can hear it when I am ready for it – especially when I do not question, deny or disagree.

„If we do not know something, it’s because we Don’t Want To Know”.
I mean we are all spiritual beings (or maybe just one huge being?), who experience matter in infinite number of ways. And that’s OK, that’s Diversity. And still we have the same questions, hidden inside of us, shallow or deep and we look into them when the time is right for us and for different reasons. They say The Consciousness has it way round to everyone.

Visions that you have and try to express in your artwork are very powerful and eye catching. Is it something that happens to you naturally or is it just a pure imagination?
I was dwelling on the word „imagination”… What is the imagination? They say a man cannot imagine anything new to him/her – only perceives what already exists somewhere, „Everything Has Already Happened”. What is an image that we see when our eyelids are closed or where is this image from? Maybe we should ask quantum physicists.

It’s different with my visions. For example, I look at an object, a tree, a flower, a person or a part of a picture and at the same time I can see the rest of this phenomenon – it’s continuation, a different side of it, another context, another aspect. There are days, periods when pictures crowd into my head by themselves. The stronger, the more focused I am on painting, especially when other things don’t distract me. For example, when I was painting the series „The Parallel Worlds”, one picture spontaneously followed another – they were all 3D, full of motion, changing colours and shapes. I felt great peace and power, as if I were plugged into something. I made rough sketches to remember characteristic moments, and painting them later I had trouble deciding which colour to choose, which moment, which movement to trap.

At that time I thought it was an ability to see ‘the other’ worlds. Later I learnt that the things I saw were personal images – aspects – information or hints regarding certain persons (or a group of people). It was like this with all ‘my’ paintings, no matter whether they were painted to order or out of my own impulse. Sometimes a picture is ordered for a person whom I know nothing about, without any special requests. In a quick flash, which comes immediately or after a week, usually after waking up in the morning, when the mind is still empty, I can see a picture and later, during a conversation I learn that that’s „IT”. Two needs meet here. Someone needs to find/have „his or her” own picture. I need to „receive” it and paint.

You said that you received pictures in 3D. How is that possible? Could you expand on this please?

The easiest is the comparison to the images seen in a dream or during the meditation. They are sometimes more or sometimes less realistic, precise, often very elusive, disappearing from the memory very fast – not all of them are possible to be put on a flat piece of paper.

I evoke them and before painting, I frequently see the image on my mind – but again not always.

Also, by reading your words I feel as if you have some psychic ability, which you express through painting and drawing. Do you think you could relate to my words?

When somebody is into something for a long time and is often focused on it, a specific net of the neurons arise in his brain. Thanks to this net he sees, knows and touches the subject much deeper than others. Experienced physician will diagnose before he even sees the tests results, a fighter will predict the enemy’s move and driver will slow down sensing the danger on the road in the due time…

At the same time (as I mentioned before) everybody according to his need has a possibility of receiving the answer for himself, for this particular moment.

Maybe I will exemplify how this works for me.

I received an order for a picture for my friend’s father. I didn’t know him and I didn’t know anything about him, except for this, that he wanted to back out not only of his carrier (he was keeping a business) but also of his own life. He was lasting in suspension…

The picture, a gift from his daughter, was supposed to be an impulse for him for making a decision. I didn’t have any idea, how was it supposed to look like. I was talking to myself that I need to know what to paint - that I need to See It. On my mind there was only emptiness. When I woke up - more or less after a week – between the dream and reality I saw a horse. As a matter of fact, I saw a big, horse’s crupper, filling almost all the area of the painting and pervasive countryside landscapes - above it, under it and inside it.

Therefore I still distrusted myself, and so I told my friend about this “vision”. She burst into laughter telling me, that her father love countryside and fat country horses. He was born and growing up in the country. He was riding a horse like this to school every day. In his memories it was the happiest period of his life.

So I painted the horse’s crupper. The father of my friend was delighted with the picture. His joy of life came back. He is still keeping his business (after two years since getting a painting). Of course there is no proof, that it was caused by a painted piece of canvas, but it could be the one piece of the whole puzzle…

It is a fact that space, objects, pictures surrounding us has tremendous influence on our conscious and subconscious thoughts, as well as our feelings, mood and state of mind.

So I shall include this picture together with your interview for the readers to view. What do you think they will see in it?

I don’t know. I would be eager to know though... Many of my different paintings I got to know from other people’s feedback more than from myself.

We belong to one family which is Mankind; we have numbers of common “programs” – so most likely everybody will catch a sight of a horse. But within this family we differ, we are individuals so everybody can have distinct association, can “read off” the paintings in other way – read off oneself in different manner. Everything has infinite number of aspects. While painting I have some kind of a personal thought, but I wouldn’t like to delimit interpretations. By this reason I am unwilling to give the titles and I am not attached to them. Everybody can give his own title. I am curious about the reaction – thoughts, others people stories. It enriches paintings in new contents – different aspects, they “saturate” with them and it seems that they have stronger effect, attract more attention...

In other words, we could say it is equal to listening to your intuition. All visions arise from that place of being when one listens to his soul.

We touch places, which are hard to describe with words - that are not precise, they only give the direction, maybe it is an intuition (even though there are ups and downs with my intuition in everyday life), maybe penetrating somebody’s needs. Probably I have to touch the place inside of myself to be able to read-off this other person’s need of the soul – because we all are connected on some deeper level. I don’t need to know how it works. What is important that It does work.

Do you get to participate in many art related exhibition, displays, presentations? Do you and your work get to travel the world?

I have been painting for many years. I sell pictures. Many of them get down abroad to different countries. I have had exhibitions in Poland (quite many of them) and last summer in London. Actually I was urged on every one of them - I don’t want to use word “forced”. I was afraid of people, effort, confusion. And then I stopped being afraid of people, but I still prefer sitting alone in my studio, trying to create, to end up something and despite the fact that it’s really boring I am not really happy when something is distracting me.

On the other hand I know that different impulses, changes, contacts with people are necessary. This is why I am using propositions, favourable circumstances to make a move, change…

Sometimes I was taking part in painting in an open-air. I also eagerly paint on the walls. There are already several interiors in Poland, Norway and Netherlands, where I left the marks of my paintbrushes.

What does your art represent, Anna?

I can paint any subject. I don’t feel being limited in my abilities. It is usually matter of the client’s order. But what can be said is that the way I represent this topic is “mine”, it is a reflection of me.

There is one method which spreads very vast – Art-therapy, which helps to throw out e.g. on a paper or canvas, a different traumas, fears, suppress aggression, black thoughts often unconscious - out of yourself.

It is a good method for abreaction, identification of yourself, but putting into a frame and hanging on the wall the painting created that way seem such a bad idea. It is desirable that such painting should be repainted, destroyed or at least hidden somewhere deep (alternately it can be given to the Museum). I am not talking about the artistic side here. Painting can be perfect, moving, full of emotions, but it is worth to contemplate here why do we actually like something... Do we want to intensify these particular emotions or to consolidate them?

I feel it is important to be aware of that while arranging your place, space.

There are many artists, who create disturbing, simply aggressive, brutal visions saying that they want to put the attention on them, at some kind of a problem, drama, they tell that it is a protest against war and so on... Of course, everybody has right to presume that thanks to the “fight for peace” on the Earth, the peace will set in.

I have a right to see it in a different way. I can only find, create a “peace” inside myself. If we all do it, then there will be peace. Every person (using the simplification) has his “bright” and “dark” sides. About the “dark” side I mentioned a little before speaking about Art-therapy.

For example, painting someone’s portrait I concentrate myself on this person’s “bright” side. I ask a question how this painting is suppose to look like and I wait for an answer. I assume portrait will probably hang on this person’s wall and that he will be looking at it from time to time or maybe even often. I know the cases, where people were converging to their portraits in relatively short period of time. A portrait can affect particularly strong. When I create something for others it is always a responsibility.

This is why I always want to find, enhance, to emphasize this most beautiful side of a person. I do not correct the features of the face, I focus only on this qualities that this person (her/his soul) wishes intensify.

Are there any near future exhibitions planned for your art anywhere in the world?

I’m focusing now on the current orders (illustrations, wall paintings, portraits, conservations). I haven’t had time for my own paintings last days, but I know that when I will create them, it will be work done without a definite reason.

I do my best to not plan anything because plans usually never happen as planned (they narrow down the possibilities – they are like building a gate on a desert). Neither I have the desire to make exhibitions – I already mentioned that, but if such need will appear and possibilities, then it’s something different, I will most likely won’t decline, and of course you will probably hear from me.

Tell me, what would you say to the Beginner who is just about to embark on the journey of self-discovery through the means of art? What would be your advice or wisdom?

Hmm…it’s a book-size subject.

Painting, drawing... Every form of creation - to be a creation - has to be bringing joy. And this cannot be lost. But when you start to perform something as your everyday job, it becomes easy to lose the joy of spontaneity. Routine starts to appear, as well as boredom, tiredness, dependency on other people and their judgments.

It’s much easier when it is a hobby… But you have to be careful to not race with anybody, don’t compare yourself to others, do not try to be original, better by brute force… it’s Most Important – to create for yourself, to be focused on your own. You can peek how others are doing that – to learn diverse techniques to discover the one most suitable for you. Or create you own… Own technique or so called “style” it’s not a goal itself – it’s a side effect of an “experimenting game”. Some people think they have lack of abilities or traits like persistence, patience, sensitivity, ability to concentrate, observe or so called imagination, but thanks to creative activities we can find them in ourselves, to develop them and many others.

But the real core of it is the transmission of those creative activities for our whole life. Every activity, every job can transfigure, become a form of an art: art of cooking, art of cleaning, art of bringing up children, etc. – the art of living.

It’s the readiness for constant changes, forgetting what you know in order to make a new discovery in the exact moment of Now (to react differently than usually, to do a routine action in a different way against all the habits). It’s the escape over our own, tight frames – habits, opinions we are stuck on. We are something “much, much more” than we can only imagine.

This is what I call – self-discovery.



Copyright © Jolita Kelias, Nov 2010
All Rights Reserved

Tuesday, 16 November 2010

INTERVIEW with WINE MAKERS Bryan and Shellie Croft

I have got to know this beautiful couple, who has a great passion for delicious wine making and healthy, organic living. They are known as Shellie and Bryan Croft. They live, work and grow their two beautiful children in Oregon, USA. They are keen in motivating others through their own example to grow organic food, raise animals, nurture Mother Earth and to live a healthy, well balanced life. The wine they make comes from the labour of love and pure dedication. Their wine making business is a modest family affair but very much appreciated by their family, friends and locals. So throughout the time I got quite curious and decided to invite them to have a chat with me.

Please introduce me to the way your wine is born from its beginning to the moment you put it into the bottles.

Our wine is conceived as the leaves unfurl in the spring, then bud break occurs followed by bloom and self pollination. In the same way that we care for our family, we must tend the vines and the soil to ensure all is better than well.

When we have fruit-set in very late spring/summer we concentrate on all things to do with weather, track the vines closely, and add nitrogen to the soil where we can. Through the summer we may pull some leaves from the vines to allow for the sun to ripen more evenly, we may also drop some crop (clusters) to make for more delicious, concentrated flavours in the fruit. We wait for veraison, which is the colour change in the grapes to bless us with first thrill of thoughts of what harvest will bring.

At harvest time we carefully monitor the brix (sugar levels), acid, Ph, flavours, skins and seeds, until we feel the time is perfect to bring in the grapes. We crush and destem (destem means a removal of the stems that hold the clusters of grapes together. We don't allow these to ferment with the grapes as it adds an extremely bitter quality) the fruit and send it into a tank when we inoculate with yeast and track twice per day as well as perform punch-downs of the cap of skins that forms at the top of the fermentors as the yeast eats the natural sugar in the grapes and releases CO2 and creates alcohol.

When the wine is dry (absent sugar), we press the skins and seeds and we now have our wine, which is transferred into the French oak barrels from our favourite cooper (barrel crafter). Through the winter we will top up the barrels with more wine because the barrels allow for an evaporation of small amounts of the wine and we must be diligent about not allowing oxygen to break down the quality of the beautiful fruit flavours and aromas.

We age the Pinot Noir for anywhere from 18 months to 36 months, depending on our taste and thoughts about the wines development. Prior to bottling, we filter and then into the glass it goes. We will wait for a short period to allow the wine to get over its "bottle shock", and then we enjoy!

In other words, our wine is born in the vineyard, raised in the cellar, enters into maturity in French oak barrels and ages in the bottle.

Do you grow your grapes organically?

Yes, and we are certified L.I.V.E. as well, which is Oregon's "Low Impact Viticulture and Enology" program.

I feel this vineyard is like an extension of your family, your love for goodness of Mother Nature. How does it feel to you?

Shellie: In one simple word...Perfect.

Bryan: It feels the way it is supposed to feel when you're doing the right things. Our family, lifestyle, choices are all parts of nature, so we must act out of respect and love for the gifts.

Could you share how did your journey began regarding wine making, organic healthy living? Why did you choose such way of life? What purpose does it serve to you?

Shellie: Bryan's journey began with his grandfather. Bryan's mother grew up in the winery/vineyard environment with her father and tragically lost her mother to cancer at a very young age. While her father did his best by her, she began to resent the wine industry and ultimately extracted herself as soon as she married Bryan's father. She never enjoyed or consumed wine, including to this day. Bryan always says the interest in the wine industry skipped a generation. However, Bryan attended college at U C Davis, which is this country's most renowned university for Enology and Viticulture. He was bitten by the bug. Davis is quite close to Napa and Sonoma wine regions, and he would spend weekends visiting wineries as well as learning more about wines of the world while working through college at a fine dining restaurant.

We have both found it to be true that our interest was sparked and the passion came naturally out of our having been exposed to such great wines. As college students, we did not "Drink" to get drunk. We fell in love with wine and also the marriage of food with it. The communion and great conversations that flow while sipping and enjoying wine are our favourite experiences.

Our paths and hearts converged in Napa Valley where all of our passions were gathered in one place, including how we felt about each other. The thoughts we had about uncompromising quality in everything: Life, wine, food, literature, film, art, architecture, relationships, family and experiences lead us to pursue our dreams in this vein.

We have found through studying and learning every moment of every day, that it is true what Maya Angelou says, "When you know Better, you do Better", and while pursuit of our dream has not been easy, never have we considered giving up. Living organically is not something new and we didn't choose to live this way, we simply choose not to buy into the garbage our country has been serving up to its people for the last 30 to 50 years. Our food and wine growing, cooking and animal raising are very close to what our grandparents and great-grandparents did.

What does it take to become a good wine-maker?

Bryan: I do not know what it takes to become a good winemaker. I aspire to greatness in my craft. This, so far, has required patience, knowledge, a deep understanding of vine and grape, commitment and courage.

Shellie: I add from my perspective of wife and partner that it also requires a kind of passion in this art/science that would have Bryan place being a winemaker above the money he would make off of the product.

Do you have many competitors in wine making business? How do you deal with it?

We feel competition only with ourselves. We push very hard to create a beautiful, clean, delicious wine and we aspire to make excellent wine all of the time while focusing on making it to share with everyone who wishes to enjoy. We wish to price our wine so that we can stay in business and build it, for ourselves and our children.

The world is filled with good and excellent wine, which we enjoy as well. We delight in and celebrate all of our wine country communities and do not buy into the notion of competition.

Bryan, please tell more about the prize you have received recently regarding the wine you produce from your grapes.

The most recent accolade is from The Beverage Testing Institute, and the Pinot Gris received 90 points. Just prior to this, we received 3 gold medals for 3 different varietals from the 2010 Sommeliers Challenge. We also received 7 medals for 7 different wines entered in our Oregon State wine competition. This has been an excellent year for praise of our wines, and I am very happy. I must say that while I enjoy the awards, it's the pleasure that my wine brings to people's palates that is most satisfying. I make wine for the people not the critics.

What is the name of the wine your make?

Our label is Southcroft Farms. South because a southern slope is most desirable for planting vines here in Oregon (for sun exposure and water drainage). Also Bryan and I are from California wine country which is south of Oregon. Croft - because it is our family name and the meaning of the word Croft is "a small rural out-cropping of land".

From your inspiring pictures I see that you are a great promoter of healthy, organic living. What inspired you to follow this path?

Shellie: When I learned that I was expecting the incredible blessing of our first child, I devoured everything I could get my hands and eyes on about eating perfectly to contribute to my baby's health in the womb. The more I read and learned, the more I wanted to read and learn. So much resonated with me about eating closer to the earth, it all made complete sense. I made all of my children's infant food from scratch, and then after my second child was born, put in a large vegetable garden, fruit trees, and started a flock of free ranging chickens for eggs and a turkey for Thanksgiving (my favourite holiday). Living this way feels Amazing and right.

How do your children find living the life that you create?

Shellie: This is their normal. It is still challenging to get them to eat raw fresh vegetables, but I will take the time to steam them, puree them and incorporate veggie goodness into breads, baked goods, and juices. In fact, I just roasted one of our pumpkins, and will be making soup for tonight's dinner.

Good wine is always worth attention. I am wondering whether you perform any rituals before beginning the harvest and afterwards? Are there any traditions you follow in particular in regards to successful wine making?

Bryan: We do not perform any rituals before the harvest, but we always try to bring the children to see the parts of the process we believe they would be able to grasp. Also, it is important that they have a chance to see their mommy working in the winery to develop a clearer picture of what she is capable of.

The traditions I follow would be the things I have learned that are tried and true and influence great winemaking. To be very honest, I consider my winemaking style more innovative over traditional. Cleanliness and safety in the cellar are paramount. Care and sanitation of our equipment and barrels is crucial, and there are practices we employ annually prior to harvest, but this is the "unglamorous" part of the business.

We never put our feet or legs into the grapes to crush them, although some wineries here do a small fermentor or more this way. Things that shed off of human bodies is not what I find desirable or delicious.

Where do you distribute your wine?

We do not distribute out of our immediate area at this time, as we do not produce a great deal. We sell out to some very loyal fans, friends and restaurants. It is in our future to grow though, but carefully so as to be able to grow our business safely and guarantee that is stays in our family.

What advice would you give to people who might consider turning to more sufficient living - growing their own vegetables, crops, animals..?

The best advice is first to do loads of research, which is easy these days with the internet. Find local farmers who are committed to this good way of farming and make them your mentors. Allow yourself the pleasure and blessing of using your hands in the soil and on the plants and animals over use of chemicals. Get Dirty! Enjoy nature every day, support farmers markets and above all, live in GRATITUDE for all that the universe offers.

*** *** ***
More information about SouthCroft Farms you may find on Shellie's Blog www.shelliesconsumption.com .
They can also be found on Facebook under Shellie Croft name, where they eagerly share their life, pictures of delicious homemade foods, healthy organic living, wine making and more.



Copyright © Jolita Kelias, Nov 2010
All Rights Reserved

Monday, 1 November 2010

WHY OUR PRAYERS SOMETIMES NOT ANSWERED?

Today we would like to turn your attention to the subject of prayer. Many people have potent experiences through the avenue of prayer, while others seem to get no positive outcome. What might be the mysterious mechanism behind prayer, and how can we explain such contradictory results? Many religions and wisdom traditions over the ages have declared that all prayers are answered; Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba likewise says this is so. But how can this be, one protests, when so many boons we fervently pray for do not seem to be granted?

First of all, to be effective, a prayer must be sincere. Consulting a dictionary, we find sincere defined as “genuine, real” and “free from hypocrisy.” Sathya Sai Baba has noted that sometimes our prayers are no more than play acting. Perhaps he means that though we may be crying out to the Creator to help us, in our heart of hearts – our core convictions about life – we’re not convinced that God loves us and that we are worthy of His grace. Sathya Sai Baba also states that the universe always says, “Yes, yes, yes,” to us, so if within ourselves we are holding to a deep subconscious belief that contradicts our pleas, how can we expect our prayer to be effective? In that scenario, we are living in a state of hypocrisy, saying one thing while secretly believing another. The great Masters and Avatars who come to Earth as vehicles for divine energy do not force their will on us. Opening up to God’s love is our job, so if due to low self-esteem or other psychological conditions we cannot free our hearts and accept the love they offer, the circuit doesn’t get completed. In this case, it is not God turning a deaf ear to us, but we ourselves who are blocking the blessings we are yearning for. Our part in the process was pointed out by Jesus Christ thousands of years ago. When people praised him for the miraculous healings they received, he declared it was by their own faith that they were healed, meaning that they were ready to receive so their prayers for health could be fulfilled.

Another point to consider is that serious illness and other trials may be karmic in nature, meaning we ourselves have created the circumstances we are facing and they can teach us lessons which are crucial to our spiritual growth. In such cases, our ultimate good is better served by going through the karmic process and reaping the insights it will bring us. Since the true goal of life is self-realization and liberation, why would God interfere in that process?

The factor of time must also be added to the mix. It’s easy to recognize this when a child whines for something it is not ready for, like the five-year-old who wants to drive the car. Like big children, we don’t always know what’s best for us or when we should have it. Sathya Sai Baba has stated sometimes we don’t get what we ask for because something better is being held for us. In one account, Bhagawan Baba told a woman He would heal her just like that, and then snapped His fingers three times. Twenty years later He came in a dream, snapped His fingers three times and she was healed.

Then there is dharma. We are born into this world to play a specific role in the Lord’s play. In the Gita, Krishna discusses swa-dharma, the individual’s path of right action and says it is better to fail at our swa-dharma than to succeed at another’s. If a prayer is misguided in that we are pursuing something not suited for us, it may be best it is not fulfilled as we wish, as doing so might delay the day we awaken to our true dharmic role. For example, the ego might crave a certain job because of the pay and prestige, while on a soul level we are seeking work in harmony with our inner nature and a way to serve others as well as support ourselves. We humans are complex beings, and life is about getting to know oneself on every level.

An article in New Realities magazine in May of 1990 entitled The Power of Prayer; Old Approach, New Wonders, written by Larry Dossey, MD, described some fascinating experiments conducted by an organization called Spindrift. They used sprouting seeds as a biological medium to measure the effects of prayer. When two groups of identical seeds were placed side by side and one was prayed over and the other was not, the prayed for group always yielded more shoots. The results were reproducible and consistent. When the seeds were stressed by adding saltwater, simulating a health crisis, the difference between the two groups was even more striking. Different types of seeds and different types of stress produced the same results: prayer became more effective the worse the situation got. When different control groups were prayed over for varied amounts of time, the germination count was proportional: more prayer equaled more sprouts. They also found those experienced at prayer could produce greater results than a novice. This suggests prayer is something you can learn and get better at.

There are two basic types of prayer: directed and nondirected. Directed prayer is when you have a clear image in mind – that good paying job for instance – or use visualization techniques to produce a specific outcome, such as healing an illness. Nondirected prayer is when you release your personal agenda and ask for the highest good in the situation or use the classic Thy Will Be Done approach. When the Spindrift researchers compared them, both worked, but the nondirected technique was more powerful and often twice as effective. This would seem to indicate that when we step out of the way, more can come through. Trying to control the results through our concept of what’s best merely places a limit on what can happen.

Lastly, in a conversation with Dr. John S. Hislop, Bhagawan Sathya Sai Baba explained prayer should not be equated with begging, and though the divine is aware of our needs, it is still our duty to approach God and ask for those needs to be met. He used the analogy of a mother who knows her child must have milk to survive but only gives it when the baby cries. We should never feel ashamed to pray, for it is not only OK to ask, it is required. And should we find ourselves to be so fortunate as to have no pressing needs or difficulties in our lives, then Sathya Sai Baba says we should pray for peace.


With Love and Regards,
“Heart2Heart” Team.

Source & credits : “Heart2Heart”radiosai.org