• In :
• Banyan Tree-June

Teaching story
The Butterfly
Once upon a time, a man found a butterfly that was starting to hatch from its cocoon. He sat down and watched the butterfly for hours as it struggled to force itself through a tiny hole. Then, it suddenly stopped making progress and looked like it was stuck.

Watching this, the man decided to help the butterfly out. He took a pair of scissors and cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, although it had a swollen body and small, shrivelled wings.

The man thought nothing of it, and he sat there waiting for the wings to enlarge to support the butterfly. However, that never happened. The butterfly spent the rest of its life unable to fly, crawling around with small wings and a swollen body.

After discussing with a friend, he understood that in his well-intentioned attempt to ease the troubles of the butterfly, he had unwittingly put it at a disadvantage. The restricting cocoon and the struggle needed by the butterfly to get itself through the small hole were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings to prepare itself for flying, once it was free. In life, without struggles, we never grow stronger; so it’s important for us to tackle challenges on our own and not rely on help from others all the time.

Anthon St Maarten
This, I know
• You are one thing only. You are a Divine Being. An all-powerful Creator. You are a Deity in jeans and a t-shirt, and within you dwells the infinite wisdom of the ages and the sacred creative force of All that is, will be and ever was.

• Dare to dream! If you did not have the capability to make your wildest wishes come true, your mind would not have the capacity to conjure such ideas in the first place. There is no limitation on what you can potentially achieve, except for the limitation you choose to impose on your own imagination. What you believe to be possible will always come to pass—to the extent that you deem it possible. It really is as simple as that.

• We are not supposed to all be the same, feel the same, think the same, and believe the same. The key to continued expansion of our Universe lies in diversity, not in conformity and coercion. Conventionality is the death of creation.

• If we never experience the chill of a dark winter, it is very unlikely that we will ever cherish the warmth of a bright summer’s day. Nothing stimulates our appetite for the simple joys of life more than the starvation caused by sadness or desperation. In order to complete our amazing life journey successfully, it is vital that we turn each and every dark tear into a pearl of wisdom and find the blessing in every curse.

Inspiration
Finding your spiritual guides
Who are they, what do they do?
Where do they come from, are they for me and you?
What do they look like, how do they sound?
Where do you keep them, where are they found?

Can you hear them, see them, touch them?
How long do they stay?
Maybe a year, a week or just even a day

Questions you ask of them you see
They are here to help us you and me
To guide and love us through all our years
Keeping away darkness and negative fears

But to find one yourself there's little to do
Just relax and listen to the true you
The little word or thought in your head
Is it a guide or something you read?

My guess is with little effort and care
You're going on a journey so be prepared
To a wonderful place that's hard to have foreseen
Where your guides are and have always been 

Talk to them and listen with ease
To what they say you will be pleased
So now you know your questions fulfilled
Because you took the time your mind you stilled

It doesn't take much, just a few minutes a day
To meet your guides who have something to say
Words of great wisdom given with love
To spread round the world from up above

—Terrie Brushette

ONE-MINUTE WISDOM
The coldest winter
It was one of the coldest winters and many animals were dying because of the cold. The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep each other warm. This was a great way to protect themselves from the cold and keep warm, but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions.

After a while, they decided to distance themselves, but they began to die due to the cold. So they had to choose between the pricking quills of their companions or death. Wisely, they decided to be together. They learned to live with the little wounds caused by the close relationship with their companions in order to receive the warmth of their togetherness. This way, they were able to survive.

Just for laughs
A yogi walked into a pizza parlour and said, “Make me one with everything.” When the yogi got the pizza, he gave the proprietor a $20 bill. The proprietor pocketed the bill. The yogi said, “Don’t I get any change?” The proprietor said, “Change must come from within.”

Quote
Realisation is not acquisition of anything new nor is it a new faculty. It is only removal of all camouflage. 

—Ramana Maharshi