One day a traveller was walking along a road on his journey from one village to another. As he walked he noticed a monk tending the ground in the fields beside the road. The monk said “Good day” to the traveller, and the traveller nodded to the monk. The traveller then turned to the monk and said “Excuse me, do you mind if I ask you a question?”.
“Not at all,” replied the monk.
“I am travelling from the village in the mountains to the village in the valley and I was wondering if you knew what it is like in the village in the valley?”
“Tell me,” said the monk, “What was your experience of the village in the
mountains?”
“Dreadful,” replied the traveller, “to be honest I am glad to be away from there. I found the people most unwelcoming. When I first arrived I was greeted coldly. I was never made to feel part of the village no matter how hard I tried. The villagers keep very much to themselves, they don’t take
kindly to strangers. So tell me, what can I expect in the village in the valley?”
“I am sorry to tell you,” said the monk, “but I think your experience will
be much the same there”. The traveller hung his head despondently and walked on.
A while later another traveller was journeying down the same road and he
also came upon the monk. “I’m going to the village in the valley,” said the second traveller, “Do you know what it is like?”
“I do,” replied the monk “But first tell me - where have you come from?”
“I’ve come from the village in the mountains.”
“And how was that?”
“It was a wonderful experience. I would have stayed if I could but I am
committed to travelling on. I felt as though I was a member of the family
in the village. The elders gave me much advice, the children laughed and
joked with me and people were generally kind and generous. I am sad to
have left there. It will always hold special memories for me. And what of
the village in the valley?” he asked again.
“I think you will find it much the same” replied the monk, “Good day to you”.
“Good day and thank you,” the traveller replied, smiled, and journeyed on.
Anonymous

This was the first time I actually was taught how to meditate. I attended  the talk with a lot of anger and by the end of the session I found inner peace. I also learnt in this session that fear is negative energy. This has made my thinking change.

Anonymous

This year, when I participated in the half marathon of Bogota, I felt a sweet
and powerful sensation when I had the medal around my  neck: I had reached the goal. I had never experienced so much the inner power at that time. More than the distance and the fatigue experienced  by my body, I felt
satisfied at having reached the end despite many difficulties.

From my childhood I practiced other sports and I confess that jogging did not generate any fun. On the contrary it  caused me some discomfort. Weeks before my exams at the university, an athlete friend challenged me to run long distance with him. I was so focused that I could stay on par with him and at the end, he suggested to me to train because he saw in me athletics abilities. I started with short distances. The days passed by and each time I
saw that I was able to complete the distances, which made me feel confident.
However, before the main race, a strange feeling began to come over:   nervousness to start the race? And what if perhaps I could not reach the goal? Despite the training, I had managed just 13 Kms, a distance that was not enough for a race of 21 Kms.
When I started the race, and I was moving forward on the race track,
the concentration, enthusiasm and determination were such that I was enjoying every step, every breath and every thought. When I reached
the 17 kilometer mark I started experiencing a strong discomfort in my feet and my knees. I told my friend that the pain was intense. He told me: “are you not going to reach the goal? You are not far off, you can do it! Then, at that moment a strange feeling came over me. I remembered that courage and enthusiasm dwell within me, so I renewed my strength in those moments of weakness and won the race. The medal hasbecome more than a prize and is a reminder of the efforts made to win such a race.  Now I am more aware of my potential . Not only do I recognize the difficult sections in a race, but also the quality of thoughts and inner qualities that I have while I run. So dear reader, remember your capabilities. Have you analyzed your next goal? What will be the inner qualities that will awaken?

Anonymous

When I was younger - about 25 years old- I decided to become responsible
and got a job. It was very new for me and I didn’t know about the world of
work. I experienced many difficulties conveying messages to my elder
colleagues. I was surrounded by the bosses. But I felt inside an inner
strength which guided me - without knowing what it was - to reach my aim
despite many threats. I did not care about these threats and continued
through. I felt a force inside which made me wake up in the morning. At that
time I didn’t realise what I was doing. And it’s this year, since I was
introduced to the raja yoga courses, that I realised that there really is
a Supreme Soul who helps us.

Nicolas M.

In the elementary school days, I was taught that God
created the world in 7 days.  So, for me, believing there is
a God who is All Powerful and Almighty had not been a new thing, like a
genie or a fairy with a magic wand is for a young kid.

When a young mother is told that her two year old child has
infantile autism, a term that not many people know of until you meet one,
what can she do?

Aside from doing all the things that parents would/could do, she realized
it must be an experience that God had given her to grow and learn from.
So, believing in the Goodness of God, helped that mother (me) to
go through the years in good silence and in good faith, trusting His
Goodness and His Plans, doing what she (I) could do under His Guidance.
Without faith and belief in the Divine and submitting to the
drama of life, I would not have been able to arrive to the present.

After years of inner trust and faith and cooperation, my son has now gone out of
the infantile autism, has finished his university degree and is
a young man with many interests in life.

If I did not have faith and trust in the Divine, how would I be able to come up
to this stage?  I would not be able to cope internally nor
externally, nor face the many challenges that life brings to every one of us.

This is one of the many inner powers that I got from His protection. And I
am still learning day by day.

Anonymous

In this uphill road we call life, I have personally experienced god’s hand
on my head. I feel his hand guiding me in my path. Takes me through safer
roads and trails and protects me from loss of not just wealth but
unhappiness. Happiness is more precious than money. God has helped me to
keep my self respect and dignity intact and has taught me to keep my
happiness in my control. Spiritual teachings have taught me the tricks
needed to stay content and blissful. This is a big Welcome to the
Universe. Come and join us and experience this infinite peace and
happiness. Good job on the animation and site !

Anonymous