"This Week"
by the
Bahrain Meditation Centre

18th March, 2006

Is Success MORE?

H ow do you define success? Is it simply the completion of the next task, another job well done, a promise kept, an exam passed, a medal won, a mountain climbed or a target hit? Whatever you believe success to be will have a profound influence on your life. If you were to follow the trends of the world then success would be measured by acquisition. The more you have the more successful you are. More can be almost any quantity - objects, money, properties, celebrity, fame, fans, and in terms of position, it simply means higher.

Success equals 'more' as soon as we inherit and absorb the prevalent beliefs that the world is a place of scarcity, that the purpose of life is survival, that we must accumulate to prosper, and that the more you get the happier you will feel. Taught to believe there is not enough to go around, we speak the common language of `not enoughness!' We then strive and struggle for what we consider is our rightful share, and more is not only good, but applauded when attained. And then we wonder why there is so much greed, consumption, accumulation, manipulation, polarisation, conflict and war.

So what does it mean to be successful? At what level, in what context and by whose standards?

If you were to give yourself some time to live in this question you would likely arrive at the fairly obvious insight that success is not a material thing, it is not something that can be possessed, it is a state of being. Some call it contentment, or happiness, or even peace. These are the deepest and most meaningful symptoms of success, but only when they are stable and therefore not dependent on anything outside ourselves.

Other signs of success to someone who has challenged the staple diet of modern beliefs at the deepest level might include:

· to be able to act with total honesty and integrity

· to be able to be peaceful and stable when all around you are in crisis or chaos

· to value what you are more than what you have

· to accept full responsibility for all thoughts, feelings, words and actions

· to be able to see past the weaknesses/mistakes of others and focus on their inherent goodness

· to put thoughts and words into action without delay

· to be able to let go of the past instantly

· to give without the desire for anything in return

Notice how intangible all these measures are. In fact, no one else can measure them except oneself. Notice how we seldom, if ever, ask ourselves why we cannot achieve these inner states of being and enlightened behaviours. Unless we can do all of these, how on earth are going to be content with ourselves? Are these the deepest measures of success? Is there a new awareness of wealth embedded in their realisation? Now there's another interesting question, "What is real wealth?"

Question : What does success mean to you?

Reflection : Why do you think your definition of success might be challenging to achieve (scribble some notes for yourself)

Action : Initiate a conversation sometime this week with friends, family or colleagues and ask them for their meaning of success?

Om Shanti
(I am a peaceful soul)

 Tel: +973-17-712 545, meditate@batelco.com.bh, www.bahrainmeditationcentre.org
Bahrain Meditation Centre is administered by B.K.W.S.U. (visit: www.bkwsu.org.uk)