When we think about someone, we're sending a thought form to that person. Start with: "I need to be sending positive thoughts to others." Negative habits, based on recurring cycles, can be avoided by sustaining sadhana. Spiritual practices are stronger than the subconscious mind. An energy or enthusiasm will come up in 12 or 30 year cycles.

Unedited Transcript:

Today's Dancing with Siva lesson, Sloka 61

"What Is the Meaning of Good Conduct?"

What comes to your mind? Don't have to speak out but just formulate an answer. What comes to your mind as the answer to that question? What is the meaning of good conduct?

Well, I found when I read it, I thought of actions. I was thinking: conduct, actions. Or, what are the actions we should do; what are the actions we shouldn't do? You know, that was my general thought. And then I read the answer.

"Good conduct is right thought, right speech and right action."

Well, Gurudeva's pointing out, starts with thought. So, that's a very important point. And individuals, such as yourselves, who are serious about your spiritual life, are definitely careful about conduct. It's the natural thing. That's why you're here. You know, your conduct is sublime enough that you can show up for a 6 AM homa. Life isn't in chaos. And come on a regular basis.

But where we're not necessarily as strict is with our thoughts. And that's the point that struck me.

Yogaswami has an interesting statement about thoughts. He says: "Electric waves are nothing compared with thought waves. The thoughts of others come and dash against me."

So, he was aware of everyone who was thinking about him. Some reason he knew who was coming. Cause when you're going somewhere, you tend to think about the person you're going to and so you're alerting him by your thoughts that you're coming. So, someone knocks on the door, he knows who it is because your thoughts arrived way before you did.

The point being: Yogaswami was aware of their thoughts. We're not necessarily, you know, none of us are as aware as Yogaswami was. He was aware of all their thoughts. But we're aware of thoughts sometimes, I'm sure. But the point is, even if we're not aware of them, they're affecting us. When we think about someone, we're sending a thought form to that person and that thought form is affecting them. It's a positive uplifting thought, it's effecting them in a positive uplifting way. If it's a critical thought, it's affecting them in a negative way.

Sometimes, unfortunately, it's human nature to gossip or backbite. Gives us something to do when there's nothing on T.V. Can make up our own dramas, our own soap operas. And, they're interesting because we're critical of someone, complaining about them. Sometimes spouses complain about their spouse when they're not present. Makes them kind of feel better about life. But, the point is: what happens to those thoughts? They're actually going out, the person you're thinking about is receiving them. And, they're either helping that person do better or helping the person, challenging the person. Making them challenged to do as well as they would have if you hadn't sent them those negative thoughts.

Very interesting here at Guru Purnima time. I noticed it once when I was in Mauritius at Guru Purnima and Gurudeva was here and was trying to communicate about something on e-mail. And it got confused. Well, what was the confusion? Well the confusion was hundreds, thousands of devotees around the world were thinking about Gurudeva at that point. Their minds were here and it was affecting the force-field of the monastery and made it harder for communications to be clear at that time.

Likewise, on your birthday if you have lots of friends and family, you might find it hard to make a good decision. They're all thinking about you. So, the point I'm making is: What is the meaning of good conduct? Next time you run into that phrase, you know, make sure you start with your thoughts. "I need to be sending positive thoughts to others." If I'm going to think about others I need to do so in a positive manner not in a negative or critical manner. Cause they will receive them.

Lesson 61 from Merging with Siva.

"The Cycles of Experience

"There are many things in life which endeavor to keep us away from our true being. These are the cycles of life. We must watch and be careful of these recurring cycles in our life. These joyous and sorrowful occurrences that awareness experiences, sometimes each day, sometimes each week, sometimes each month, are totally dependent upon the positive control that we have of awareness. But then there are greater experiences that have even longer cycles -- perhaps a three-year cycle, a five-year cycle, a ten-year cycle or a fifteen-year cycle.

"The subconscious area of the mind is something like the sacred cow of India. It relives what it takes in... The subconscious area of the mind does the same thing. You will find yourself aware of reliving your life, or getting back into the same cycle of the same pattern of life that you experienced many years ago. This you want to avoid, naturally."

And, Gurudeva goes on to explain that you can avoid it by sustaining your spiritual practices. That's how you avoid it. That the spiritual practices are stronger than the subconscious mind in terms of a negative habit pattern. So if you're consistent in your sadhana then you won't get dragged back into a negative habit based on a time cycle.

But the other side of time cycle is the positive aspect. I thought I'd share a little bit from one of my talks. It's from a planning talk. This is the first part and then the second part of the talk gets into the planning out the different areas of your life.

"When it comes to planning in the future one of the interesting aspects of it to ponder is the viewpoint of Vedic Astrology in which events repeat themselves in the timing of planetary orbits. Jupiter has a cycle of about 12 years. Rahu 18 years and Saturn 30 years. Vedic Astrology is based on a cycle of 60 years each of which has a name. Sixty years is two cycles of Saturn and 5 of Jupiter. Two 60-year cycles, or 120 years, is considered a natural life of man. (See if any of us make it,120. Go for it!) Chinese calendar, by the way, is based on a cycle of 12 years, a Jupiter cycle. I spent a few minutes looking for events repeating themselves in 60- or 120-year cycles and found that the first prototypes for gasoline engine automobiles happened in 1886, and 120 years later, in 2006, a prototype electric car was released, the Tesla electric roadster. Exactly 120 years, first one. Gasoline engine cars started production line assembly in 1902. Perhaps in 120 years from that, 2022, electric cars will do the same."

So, in the same cycle, in 10 years, might see large scale production of electric car or some kind of alternative car to gasoline engine.

"One of the suggestions for solving our current energy crisis is to have another scientific course, the equivalent of the Apollo Space Program which successfully landed a man on the moon. The Apollo program was from 1961 to 1969. So perhaps an energy program will start some 60 years later in 2021. We'll see. In our own activities we have noticed events of a religious nature repeating in cycles of 36 years which is three cycles of Jupiter and two of Rahu. Take our Innersearch Travel Study programs as an example. We had two major programs to India, 1969 and 1972. (Some of you were on one or both of those.) We had no large programs to India until recently in 2004 and 2008 approximately 36 years later."

Amazing, you know. Comes around and starts fulfilling itself. So maybe our next program is 2040. Next large scale program to India.

"Another example from that time period is work on Kailasa Parampara Guru's book was started in 1972 and picked up in late 2007 for finishing. So it, the energy came around to do it 36 years later.

"Gurudeva's vision of Lord Siva on San Marga occurred in 1975, so in 2011 it is natural for something significant to happen on San Marga."

This was written in 2008, so it wasn't totally spontaneous. We put up the panels there with the pictures on purpose to honor the 36 year cycle, but it did happen anyway, 36 years later.

"On a personal level, the idea is that it is easier to accomplish major tasks when they tie into doing the same activity in a cycle of multiples of 12 or 30 years before. Or, said another way, if we want to predict our future, look and see what major activities we were doing in cycles of 12 and 30 years before and you'll find there'll be an impetus to do the same thing."

You may not do it, but there's an impetus or an energy will come up or an enthusiasm will come up to do the same thing you were doing in 12-year cycles before or 30-year cycles before. And therefore, it's easier to do it. Actually easier to do it because of that energy.

Have a wonderful day.

Aum Namasivaya