Category Archives: Stillness

Quotes - 2011, Stillness

How To Become More Aware

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I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion. – Billie Jean King

awareness

Continuing from yesterday’s post, What Needs To Change…

Increasing awareness of self and of what we truly seek are the next steps in our ‘change’ journey. These are skills which will be handy at any stage of our lives. Some of tools which can be employed at this stage are:

  • Self-Inventory: Becoming aware of what motivates us, what irritates us, why we get angry or passionate. Here’s more about it… Want To Stop The Suffering?
  • Active Journaling: A form of journaling that allows for closer contact with our spirit inside, more here: Emotional Freedom!
  • Shadow-Self: Combine the above two… For a given day, carry a journal and every hour on the hour jot down: What was my dominant thought the last hour? What am I dwelling on right now?
  • Stillness: Use a method for stilling our minds and for having directed-thought, some tips here: https://namastenow.com/index.php/stillness/
  • Assessments: Consider personality assessment tests as well as something like Strengths Exploration.
  • Personal Vision Statement: A vision statement may be crafted based on using the above tools. A vision statement is one that states in a few words the end state an entity wants to achieve. An example might be: I am a loved and admired husband and father.

These tools can be used to help us figure out what needs to change. Once we have that we can use the Vision Statement as our end goal and as a motivational tool.

dimensions of awareness

Work on transforming self can be done along the following dimensions:

  • Body: Focus is on wellness goals…
  • Mind: Focus is on intellectual and psychological well-being
  • Soul: Spiritual aims are the focus here…
  • Life-Purpose: In some ways this bucket combines the first 3 dimensions and puts the focus on how our existence impacts and improves people and things around us, our world…What is our contribution to Life?

There can be other dimensions… More on this overall process next time!

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM changing for the better!

Recommendation: What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More SuccessfulKindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6

Quotes - 2011, Stillness

What Needs To Change?

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I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. – Og Mandino

what?

Be~Zen~Do is the overall change methodology that I’m proposing. To start on this journey we must know what it is that we want to change. It’s like knowing our destination before we can start using a GPS device fruitfully. As stated previously we do often know what we want to change. How confident are we that we’ve nailed exactly what needs to change? As an example we might think we want a promotion at work. And consequently we might consider changing our work pattern to gain that promotion. But what if that’s not what we truly seek? What if we really need deeper fulfillment in the form of another vocation all-together? If we get a promotion instead we might be moving farther away from what we truly desire and need to change!

next…

Our main effort should be to go after what truly needs to change.

  1. Do we need to change a job, a vocation, or should we be working on changing our perspective?
  2. How should we think about approaching change?
  3. What do we need to transform?

More on this next time!

Daily Affirmation: Today I think about important things!

Recommendation: The Greatest Miracle in the World by Og Mandino

The Greatest Miracle in the WorldKindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6

Quotes - 2011, Stillness

Be Zen Do!

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…I see them carried away headlong, grim and obsessed, in the general onrush of the human herd, unable to stop themselves or to change their direction. – Chuang-Tzu

change

From last week (How Do I Fix It?) lets continue on the topic of Change. We’ll discuss a general philosophy of be~zen~do and specific techniques from various sources to effect lasting change, even transformation…

be~zen~do

A basic easy to follow ‘change’ philosophy is Be, Zen and Do.

  • Be: Through reflection and other practices like journaling, meditation, affirmations and visualization figure out what we want to achieve. Create a vision of the end state.
  • Zen: Use mindfulness to our advantage as we pursue a change goal. Increasing awareness of self and our motivations is the key here…
  • Do: Apply appropriate techniques to cement habits and allow the change process to occur naturally and with great success!

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM a change master!

Recommendation: Change Anything by Kerry Patterson

Change Anything: The New Science of Personal SuccessKindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6

Quotes - 2011, Stillness

How Do I Fix It?

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If we have not quiet in our minds, outward comfort will do no more for us than a golden slipper on a gouty foot. – John Bunyan

why?

Here’s the amazing thing … We know how to fix most situations, we know what will help and what will soothe … but we’re still not able to do it? Why? Here are some reasons:

  • Lack of correct understanding: We might be aware only of the peripheral issue not the deep seated one.
  • Lack of skill: Don’t know what skills to apply in a given situation.
  • Hypnosis: We’re hypnotized, we live our daily lives like zombies, we keep going like the Energizer Bunny!

rocket science?

It’s not rocket science and once understood effecting positive change in our lives is fairly straight-forward. Will power is not the key. Stay tuned as we explore this whole subject in the coming days.

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM the subject.

Recommendation: Living the Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes

Living the Science of MindKindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6

Quotes - 2011, Stillness

Why History Repeats Itself…

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Our difficulty is to make the mind revolve slowly so that each thought-feeling can be followed and understood. What is deeply and thoroughly understood will not repeat itself. – Krishnamurti

history carousel

Our mind is a whirlwind of thoughts. It’s constantly in motion and often spins around the same set of thoughts. That is the essential cause for us repeating personal and societal histories. Becoming aware of that movement of thoughts is the first step we can take toward gaining mastery over our mind and therefore the course of our life.

slow motion living

We’re all told that we should practice living in the moment. But how can we do that? Let’s consider the idea of ‘slow motion’ living. To achieve mindfulness and present-centeredness, we just need to slow down. Let’s take more deliberate steps while walking, breathe deeply and with intent, notice something fully and watch our thoughts. When our body has slowed down, because of our deeper breathing, our mind follows. We can then watch our thoughts, our reactions, our hopes and our desires. By watching, by becoming aware, we can deeply understand self. Only wisdom and happiness can result from that…

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM a deep breather.

Recommendation: The Book of Life by Krishnamurti

The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with KrishnamurtiKindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6

Quotes - 2011, Stillness

How To Escape Hell…

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May those whose hell it is to hate and hurt be turned into lovers bringing flowers. – Shantideva

hell

It’s hell when…

  • We have no control over the negativity of our thoughts
  • We aren’t loved or believe that we aren’t loved
  • We flounder about not knowing where life is heading

We choose whether we live in this kind of hell; it’s up to us. There is a way out…

love

The way out is through love. If we’re unable to feel love in our being it’ll be hard for us to make the right decision about important matters. To enjoy the love that pervades this Universe we may do the following:

  • Forgive: We must forgive everyone and everything. Truly forgive any wrongs, real or otherwise, done to us
  • Allow: Once we forgive we can take the next step. We must make the decision to allow the divine to express itself through us
  • Receive: Then all we have to do is be still and receive. Divine intelligence does the rest. Love flows into us and expects expression
  • Express: We must express that which we receive. Love (God) desires expression through us. We must give it away to grow it and to keep experiencing it.

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM a weapon of love…

Recommendation: Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow by Marsha Sinetar

Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow: Discovering Your Right LivelihoodKindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6

Quotes - 2011, Stillness

What Is True Success?

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Always continue the climb. It is possible for you to do whatever you choose, if you first get to know who you are and are willing to work with a power that is greater than ourselves to do it. – Oprah Winfrey

who are we?

That is the ultimate question isn’t it?

  • Who are we?
  • Where do we come from?
  • For what purpose and to what end?

Answers to these questions are an eternal quest. We gain clues by:

  • Discovering and acknowledging our strengths and skills
  • Understanding how others view our capabilities
  • Figuring out what really interests and excites us
  • Uncovering what our ‘inner-self’ tries to communicate to us

the greater power

True success may only be experienced when our highest talents and ideals combine with the larger purposes of the Universe. True success actualizes when we know our place in the Universe, can collaborate with God and act on our highest ideals…

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM an active cog in the wheel!

Recommendation: The Urantia Papers

The Urantia Book: Indexed Version with free Audio Book on DVD (Can only be played on a computer with a DVD drive.)Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6