Reminder Systems
2 Feb 2018
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In our daily life, it helps to have frequent reminders for practicing acceptance, non-attachment and equanimity. To this end, several creative ideas have been developed in different traditions.
Clothes, ornaments, signs & sayings

Some people make signs, marks or tattoos on their bodies. Some people wear clothes, bracelets or ornaments of certain color or type or pattern. Many people hang pictures or sayings on walls of their homes, or carry these in their wallet, or keep them in their vehicles or their workplace. Whenever we notice such a sign, picture or saying, we get a gentle reminder to practice acceptance, non-attachment and equanimity.

Many Gods

Pantheistic systems associate gods with various physical and mental phenomena. For example, there are gods associated with elements of nature (sun, moon, air, water, and so on), life forms like forest, trees, animals and birds. There are gods for mental phenomena like knowledge and love too. These gods (with a small 'g') are different from God (with a capital 'G') in that they correspond to a part of the Universe, so they are manifestations of the Universe (God) as a physical or mental phenomena.

How does it help to associate gods with physical and mental phenomena that we experience? The idea is quite simple. In our daily experience, whenever we notice a physical or mental phenomena, we are reminded, 'God has manifested as sun in this moment', 'God has manifested as water in this moment', 'God has manifested as knowledge in this moment', and so on. This way, we get reminded that we are in the presence of God. In other words, we get reminded that we are experiencing a manifestation of God as a physical or mental phenomenon. Such reminders are awesome opportunities to practice acceptance, non-attachment and equanimity in that moment.

Daily Prayers

Some people pray once a day, others pray multiple times a day at well defined points of time spread over the day. Every prayer fortifies the main practice.

Places of Worship

Many people visit places of worship according to some schedule: daily, weekly, monthly or yearly. Each visit is a reminder to us to practice acceptance, non-attachment and equanimity.

Special Days & Festivals

All cultures celebrate festivals on specific days, or commemorate specific events of historic interest: birth or death of somebody notable, or in memory of some important event. Such days are great reminders for practicing acceptance, non-attachment and equanimity.

Events in our Daily Life

Special events are awesome reminders for practice. Many people practice thankfulness before specific events like daily meals or significant purchases. Many people pray before stepping out of their home or before starting something new.

Greetings and Interjections

Traditional greetings all over the world are fabulous reminders for the main practice. For example, the Persian greeting Khoda Hafiz means 'May God be with you' or 'May God be your Guardian'. The English greeting 'Goodbye' is a contraction of 'God be with ye'. The Hindi greeting 'Namaste' is a combination of 'Namah + Te' which means 'I bow down to You'. The Arabic greeting 'Wa alaykumu as-salam' means 'May peace be upon you'. The Hebrew greeting Shalom aleichem also means 'Peace be upon you!'

Interjections like 'God Bless!', 'Rab Rakha', 'He Ram!' are fabulous reminders as well.

Service & Donations

Many cultures have well defined opportunities for service and donations. For example, in a Sikh temple (Gurudwara), one may serve by cooking and cleaning. Service and donations are awesome opportunities to help us with 'letting go' and developing compassion for others, thereby helping us practice acceptance, non-attachment and equanimity.

Names of Children & Places

In many cultures, names of children and names of places are chosen to remind us of spiritual concepts. When calling our children or our peers by their first names, if we care to remember the meaning of their name as well, we get a gentle reminder to practice. Names of places can also be reminders for practice.

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