Reconciliation in time brings up for me the practice of forgiving myself for things I have done and said. I also make it a practice to contemplate my responses so I can learn to respond more kindly, patiently, and lovingly. I make an effort to remember Gurumayi’s teaching about “the gatekeepers of speech,” so that before I speak, I ask myself, “Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? And is it the right time?” I don’t always get it right, but berating myself and going over it repeatedly in my mind don’t help.
Instead, I know I can become more kind, patient, and loving by practicing the Guru’s teachings. In that way, I know that over time I will become more connected to the Self and my responses more graceful. So I forgive myself, and I continue to put self-effort in to remain connected to my divinity and to see God in others.
Kingscliff, Australia
Reconciliation for me has always taken place over time and is usually about how I think about things I’ve done, said, or created. “Why wasn’t I a better mother?” “Why did my mother treat me like she did?” “Why am I not more outgoing?” “Why don’t I feel included?”
Oh, the list is long and after many years of working on many of the negative thoughts I have lugged around, I’ve realized that the reconciliation must be with my own self and it takes place over time—sometimes a very long time and often with memories of people who have been gone for many years.
Finally, after understanding how “reconciliation in time” usually is something that needs reconciling in me, I’ve realized that the process needs both time and grace, and that I have become happier and calmer as a result.
California, United States
Today as I was thinking about the teaching “Reconciliation in time,” I decided to study the word
reconciliation. The first definition I found was “renewal of friendship after disagreement or enmity; the action of reaching accord with an adversary or one estranged.”
My sister and I had a tough conversation a few weeks ago that didn’t go well, and we haven’t spoken since. As soon as I truly understood the meaning and grace of reconciliation, I couldn’t go a minute longer without telling my sister that I loved her and that she was my best friend forever.
New York, United States
In order to study Gurumayi’s Message, I wanted to track my time to see whether I was using it beneficially. I started setting timers for my every task and then observed my mind struggling with its intention to control my time. I saw that this process caused me to belittle myself.
I changed my approach and started asking the question “Is this beneficial for me?” This simple question of self-introspection helped me to reconcile my mind with time.
I am grateful for this understanding about time.
Jaipur, India
For more than twenty-five years I have been actively engaged in reconciliation activities intended to bring about historical healing and bridge building between one European country and descendants of one of its persecuted minorities. This has required that I study, observe, and practice reconciliation in depth at a very personal level. Contemplating the teaching “Reconciliation in time” was therefore irresistible to me.
Naturally, the reconciliation needed to repair a seriously damaged relationship between two people, or two groups, can be very difficult, and may need a lot of time to unfold productively. As a Siddha Yogi, I have learned from experience that although time is a prerequisite, time alone does not suffice; both self-effort and grace are indispensable. One way I have found to strengthen my motivation to seek “reconciliation in time” is to remember that when I do the inner and outer work necessary for reconciliation, I am practicing
many virtues, including compassion, unity consciousness, generosity of spirit, loving kindness, open-heartedness, empathy, and courage. And that alone is one of the greatest rewards of reconciliation that I know.
Illinois, United States
When I read “Reconciliation in time,” I felt drawn to make peace with times that have already passed, with events or actions I wished were different.
I recently experienced that the more I held on to regret or wished something was different, the more I suffered. It became so painful that I prayed for grace to reveal what I needed to know, learn, and feel to let go of pain from the past. It took courage on my part to stay with these deep feelings without blaming myself or anyone else until they revealed what I needed to learn. I reached a point of stillness and discovered the root of the pain was feeling separate from the divine—and it was rooted in love.
With this beautiful understanding, I was able to let go of the pain and connect with the divine love at the bottom of it all. My whole perception shifted, and it continues to be shaped by this understanding about “reconciliation in time.”
Nora, Sweden
As I receive each daily blessing of “In the Presence of Time
,” I write it down. For me, each teaching is like a thread that weaves a tapestry. As I review all the teachings from “In the Presence of Time” together, I gain more and more insight into how to assimilate Gurumayi’s Message. The tapestry becomes clearer.
And today’s teaching comes on a day when I, a released student of the Prison Project, have made a lot of progress toward reconciling my past with my family. The time was right.
Oregon, United States
The synchronicities I find in the teachings from “In the Presence of Time” are unbelievable!
Yesterday I had a long discussion with a family member that seemed unresolvable. I prayed to Gurumayi for guidance on how to loosen this knot. This morning, as I opened the Siddha Yoga path website, Gurumayi’s teaching “Reconciliation in time” gave me a direction and a solution. Now I know that it will take time to reconcile with this family member, but I also know that everything will be okay in the future. I felt the grace and the sweet support of my beloved Guru! I am so grateful.
Rome, Italy
Recently I was discussing reconciliation with a wise friend, who knows that it’s been a major theme in my
sadhana for many years. That theme has involved studying and implementing reconciliation in a historical context, relating to my family’s history as refugees in the 1930s. My friend, however, suggested that reconciliation need not always involve repairing an
outer relationship; instead, it could involve an inner process. Intrigued, I thought more about this and realized that yes, especially if I think of reconciliation as a restoration of harmony, I have certainly needed to restore an inner harmony in several ways over the years.
For starters, I had to work for many years to reconcile myself to the difficult childhood I experienced, which required me to forgive my parents for their role in it. And in practicing the Siddha Yoga teachings, I have had to put forth great self-effort to reconcile my yogic aspirations with the pull of various desires and past impressions.
In both contexts, reconciliation unfolded both
in time and
over time, and was achieved—with Guru’s grace—in God’s time.
Oregon, United States