In times when it seems our entire world is falling apart, there is a great need for us to stop and take note of where we are. Things can happen around us and things can happen to us, but the most important things are those that happen within us — in our thoughts and perceptions.

It is true that each and every one of us, at one time or another, has faced problems of major complexities. Some have had to deal with matters of health or relationships, whereas others may have dealt with problems pertaining to money. Some of us have had to deal with all three. As long as we are on Earth, we’ll have to deal with problems of one sort or another.

Yet, strange as it seems, it’s generally not the problems themselves that make for success or failure. It goes far beyond the mere appearances. It’s generally the perspective we have on the problems that “make” or “break” us. It’s the way we look at things. It’s what we think about what’s happening to us.

Sometimes good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. But the opposite is also true. Good things do happen to good people and bad things do happen to bad people. There is no need for us to go into long philosophical ramblings about why such things occur. We’d probably never be able to find out. It would be much more practical to learn how to deal with both good and bad experiences.

I have learned that one of the best things to do when events seem out of control is to stop and take stock of where we are and who we are. By this, I mean we should step back from the problem for a short while and realize that the problem came to us to teach us something. We may never be sure of what that “something” is, but rest assured that we will be stronger and better for it. You may not see it while you’re going through the trials and tribulations, yet slowly but surely, a better and stronger “you” is being born if you keep a proper perspective.

And don’t think for an instant that the Universe has singled you out for trials and suffering. We all have our burdens to bear — some heavier and others lighter. But we can overcome, or as I am fond of saying, we can “come over”.

As an example, let me share what happened to me over the past few weeks . I was standing by the door, ready to leave to go to a friend’s place for dinner. It had been raining constantly for a few hours and there was intermittent lightning and thunder. Suddenly, there was a giant flash of lightning, followed almost immediately by a deafening explosion of thunder. The house shook, the electricity went out and the acrid smell of smoke could be detected.

I was rooted to the floor for a split second before I realized what had happened. For the first time ever, my house was struck by lightning. Cold fear engulfed me and I could feel the sweat pouring down my face. I knew there was damage, but I also realized that I was not injured. For the latter I was grateful. For the former I was angry.

How dare the lightning do this to me? I have always felt safe and protected, no matter what has happened around me. I have survived major hurricanes, terrible storms and tornadoes and was pulled from the ocean when everyone thought I had drowned. I even escaped being trampled by an angry elephant in Asia and gored by wild water buffalos in Africa. I escaped being attacked by a group of bandits in a third world country. I had survived many life-threatening situations, and now to have lightning strike my house? Yes, I was angry, very angry and disappointed.

What? John Harricharan was angry and disappointed? Isn’t he the person who wrote such books as, “When You Can Walk on Water, Take the Boat”, “Morning Has Been All Night Coming” and “The PowerPause” and others? Isn’t he the so-called, highly-evolved personality who tries to live what he teaches? Yes, the very same.

That’s right, but here’s the difference between the “me” of today and the “me” of yesteryear. There was the initial shock of what had happened and there was fear as well as anger. But I only tolerated such feelings for about five minutes. I did not dwell on them. I quickly went about making sure that there was no fire in the house. Then I left and went to dinner. I had changed my perspective.

When I returned, I found that my communication systems were destroyed. The modems, routers, hubs, telephones, and much of the electronic stuff were literally fried. It took days to get back to almost normal. Then it happened again. A week later, tragedy struck once more and the new phones, modems and such things were again disrupted. Twice in a few days? Again, I was overcome with anger and frustration. Once more, and with difficulty, I sought balance.

The telephone company, the cable people and the repair personnel from the electric company were constant visitors to my home during this period. One of the electricians pointed out to me that the surge suppressors and lightning protector did work and that the damage would have been much more extensive had they not been in place. A brand new router for the internet went down again and had to be replaced — the second one in two weeks. No email, no phones, no work on the computer.

There were quite a few moments of ranting and raving, but there were also moments of quiet and peace. I made sure that the angry moments were short and temporary. During the moments of peace, I felt an overwhelming gratitude for not being injured and for all the good things that remained. I examined all the external wiring that led to the computers, TVs, DVD and CD players and other electronic equipment and found some that had to be replaced. Had I not discovered those, there could have been a serious fire, perhaps while I was sleeping.

Was all this trying to teach me patience? I don’t know, but I can tell you that I lived through it and it all is just a memory now as I write this article.

React to situations, if you must. We are human beings and that will happen. But do not keep reacting over and over again. Come back to center and regain perspective. Become quiet within and return to a place of quiet within your soul and the problems will not seem as terrible as they once did. We are not just human — we are more than human. The spark of tremendous power and the gift of overcoming lie within our souls.

We will, of necessity, meet many ups and downs in life. With the proper perspective we can make the “ups” higher and the “downs” not quite as low. Keep on keeping on with trust and hope and you’ll find that an uncommon strength comes upon you. You will find a peace unknown in ordinary times. You will discover that you are far bigger than any problems that come your way.

When my son, Jonathan, was much younger, I would try to help him with some of his tasks, whether it was his homework, chores or even just plain, simple advice. Many a time he would look at me in exasperation and say, “I know that, dad.” Even when he did solicit my help directly, he would listen, but not “hear” what I had to say.

Now, mind you, I do not claim to be a paragon of excellent advice or wisdom, but many of the things I told him would have saved him tremendous amounts of time, frustration and heartaches. As Jonathan grew older, he learned to listen a bit more, so instead of discounting most of what he heard, he would evaluate, weigh the merits or lack of, and then make choices based on what was consistent with his idea of right and wrong or good and bad.

The Universe speaks to us all the time. It doesn’t always do it in ways that we expect. Sometimes a
message comes from a friend and at other times, it may be someone we do not really care for who brings a very clear message to us. There are times when the messages are sent through dreams, or books, or radio, TV, the Internet and even the more prosaic form of the telephone.

If we close our minds and think that “we know that already,” we may miss the one little point that could have saved us a lot of trouble. Keeping an open mind gives us an opportunity to evaluate the communications we receive and then make decisions based on our own true feelings.

The story is told about some scientists who went into an apple orchard to study apples. They were busy with their notepads and pencils, measuring the dimensions of the apples they found. They observed and noted the size, weight and colors of the fruit while off to their left sat one of their fellow scientists under a large apple tree. He was quietly eating an apple.

All the other scientists knew about apples. The one who was eating the apple knew “apples.” Knowing about something does not necessarily mean knowing the thing. Knowing about God does not mean knowing God. Knowing about the secrets and laws of the Universe will not do us much good if there is not the deep knowing in our hearts and souls.

There have been hundreds of thousands of people who’ve read one or more of my books. Among the many wonderful email I receive would be one or two short, to the point comments saying something to the effect of, “I know all that already. I’ve been practicing all that stuff for years and so you haven’t told me anything new.”

My feeling is that there is really nothing new. As the Book of Ecclesiastes says, “There is nothing new under the sun.” What I think is new is the interpretation we bring to things, the different way we look at the information we receive. We can choose to see if, perhaps, there are any gems in what we hear and see or any wisdom in what we read or listen to.

By opening up our minds to new possibilities, we may find that we are being led by that glorious, higher self within us to explore possibilities that have the potential to bring us peace, joy, wealth, success — all good things.

If someone tells you that you shouldn’t do something because it doesn’t work, what that person is really saying is that it doesn’t work for him. Listen to your heart, gather all the information and let the Universe show you how to make it work.

Jonathan listens a lot more these days. He reflects and thinks about what he hears, sees or reads. He is willing to listen to points of view that are totally different from his own without getting defensive as he used to. As a result, he has become more tolerant, more compassionate and, in many ways, more successful. He has grown into a fantastic young man who, I am sure, will bring much credit to all that he chooses to do.

Let us not be like the person in the little ditty who says:

“In matters controversial, my perception’s really fine. I always see both points of view — the one that’s wrong and mine.”

Let us, instead, listen to all that comes to our notice and after reflecting on it, exhibit the qualities of tolerance, peace, understanding and compassion. And as Commander Spock would say, “Live long and prosper.”

Legend has it that Robert the Bruce of Scotland was losing the battle and he barely escaped with his life. His soldiers were hard pressed to keep up the fight as many were wounded and dying. The Bruce, tired, dismayed and broken-hearted found a hidden cave where he took refuge.

He threw down his sword and sat to rest a while. Gloomy thoughts filled his mind and he reflected on the insurmountability of the task he had tried to accomplish. Perhaps Scotland would never be free — at least not in his lifetime. Perhaps he should abandon all efforts, give it up and lead an obscure life as a fugitive.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a tiny spider trying to climb a strand of web that extended from the top of the cave almost to the floor. Up went the spider and just a few feet from the top, it slipped and fell all the way down.

Over and over again the spider repeated the process as the exhausted Bruce watched, fascinated by the perseverance of the little life form. Once again the spider climbed, this time almost reaching the top. Again it slipped and fell to the floor of the cave. Now with rapt attention, Robert the Bruce watched to see its next move. A few more tries and finally, with one quick dash, the spider reached the ceiling. The Bruce slowly got up, picked up his sword, cleared the depressing thoughts from his mind and went back into the battle, inspired by the strength, will and perseverance of such a tiny creature as a spider. The rest is history. The battle was won and the Bruce was, once more, the triumphant, gallant leader of his people.

There are times when everything in life seems dark and dreary. There are those times when we feel we are totally unable to take the next step or to even move one inch. These are precisely the times when we most need inspiration.

Why inspiration? It helps recharge our energy when all seems hopeless. It gives us encouragement when our “spiritual well has gone dry”.

The dictionary gives different meanings to the word, “inspiration”. But I think “inspiration” actually means divine messages from the Universe. There are many sources of inspiration and I want to list a few of them below.

1) Nature — In the middle of the worst crisis, we could take a few minutes to clear our minds and look up to the sky or the stars. A little walk in the park or in the woods will do wonders for the body, mind and spirit. Breathe in the fresh air, watch the ripples on a pond or river, get inspired by the sheer magnificence of Nature.

2) Music — Listen to some music you really like. The sound will take your mind to another place and you’ll find that miracles can occur.

3) Books and tapes — Spend a little time absorbed in a good book. And I don’t mean just self-help or spiritual books. It could be any book that engages your mind and thoughts. For example, when things seem really gloomy to me, I’d read one of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan tales. For me, that works. For you, it might mean a totally different type of book.

And audio tapes, CD’s, video tapes and DVD’s have been a wonderful gift from technology. Just the other day I watched the movie, Richard Bach’s “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” on my video player. Shortly thereafter, I watched the western movie, “They Call Me Trinity” on my DVD player. Talk about being recharged! I was able to face the seeming impossible and come out smiling.

4) Friends — We are fortunate if we have a few good friends. Somebody once asked me if I told my friends about something I was very involved with. I smiled and answered, “Yes, I told them all — both of them.” Real friends are few and far between, but they can be a tremendous help to you by just being there and listening.

There are other sources of inspiration and I am sure you can come up with your own list that works for you. For example, take a long drive, go fishing, bake some cookies, paint a picture or make some pottery. The point is simple. Use all the sources of inspiration available to get you through your tough times — to help you, not only to overcome but to prosper. Remember, the Universe is on your side. Just give it a chance to show its magnificence in your life. Happiness should always be our most important goal. All else is secondary. Lift up your eyes and look beyond your troubles. Perhaps you’ll see a whole new, beautiful day dawning for you. It’s there. Go for it.