Tag Archives: thinking

Why History Repeats Itself…

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

Why Truth and Love Must Combine…

… the writer’s great weapon is the truth and integrity of his voice. And as long as what you’re saying is what you truly, honestly believe to be the case, then whatever the consequences, that’s fine.Salman Rushdie

authors

We are all authors. Authors of our lives. Authors of our relationships. And authors of how we experience what happens to us. We design whether we’re happy or miserable.

truth

Truth must be a guiding principle. Unless we’re true to self and truth-oriented in general, we’ll never be at ease in this universe. There comes a time when our truth isn’t anyone else’s. Which means that our interpretation of life isn’t accepted by someone else. What’s the way forward? Combine truth with love. The two should be inseparable. Truth by itself can be dry and love alone might be ineffective. Life is always more than it appears…

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM a truth lover!

Recommendation: One by Richard Bach

OneKindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6

The Key To Higher Self-Esteem…

Self-acceptance is my refusal to be in an adversarial relationship to myself. Nathaniel Branden

self

Our mind is made up of many psychological parts. The ego itself can be divided into some of the following, here’s basic info on them:

  • The Protector: This is the part that wants to protect us and ensure that we don’t take unnecessary risks.
  • The Critic: This part is what calls us silly or ugly. It’s what we use to criticize us and others. It’s also our motivator.
  • The Image Consultant: Wants us to behave in certain ways so that we’re acceptable to others…
  • The Skeptic: It’s the part that notices inconsistencies with our thinking and must be convinced about a certain decision, ensures that we don’t get scammed.
  • The Wounded child: This is the main-stay of our psyche, all other parts protect this one. Here’s more on it.

When our psyche is fragmented or we have trouble unifying some of these parts, all kinds of emotional trouble is let loose. We can feel disoriented, incomplete, think that we’re forgetting something, feel unreasoned fear and many similar symptoms.

accepting self

Unification of personality comes from some of the following activities:

  • Meditation and mind-fullness
  • Journaling and clear-thinking
  • Prayer and faith

Increasing self-awareness is the key. We can then know when we’re at odds with our own self. That leads to correct thinking which results in happiness!

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM unified!

Recommendation: The Center Within by Fred Harris

The Center Within: Lessons from Heart of the Urantia RevelationKindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6

How To Waste Life!

There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever . Mahatma Gandhi

worry worry worry

  • Why do we worry so much?
  • What are we truly afraid of?
  • What’s the worst that’ll happen?
  • Will what we worry about matter in 50 or 100 years?

safety

Ultimately we’re safe. We feel afraid and spend time worrying because we live the illusion that we are responsible for self. That’s simply not true. If we only rely on self we’ll never get over our fear and insecurity. We must pay allegiance to a higher order. That higher order may be God or a philosophy. The concept of God works really well for me. I like to think that a divine parent is responsible for her kids on Earth. I feel safe and worry less whenever I can remind myself of this Truth.

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM safe.

Recommendation: Autobiography of a Yogi by Yogananda

Autobiography of a YogiKindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6

What It Takes To Be King!

When the sun rises, I go to work.
When the sun goes down, I take my rest.
I dig the well from which I drink.
I farm the soil which yields my food.
I share creation. Kings can do no more.
Chinese Proverb

the eternal now

When we inhabit the eternal moment we can be kings of our domain. We can recognize that very wealthy or powerful people are really no different. They live, work and sleep in many similar ways. We are as important as anyone else so let’s not idealize anyone to our own detriment, let’s discover the value that we bring to the Universe!

sharing creation

We all occupy the same space and time on this planet. Our role is two-fold in my opinion:

  1. Discover self: through enquiry and patience
  2. Discover others: through love and service

In the thick of such discovery is our relationship to self and to others. And that’s exactly where life is lived, discovered and shared. Kings are born from such trials, you and I!

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM King!

Recommendation: Release Your Brilliance by Simon T. Bailey

Release Your Brilliance: The 4 Steps to Transforming Your Life and Revealing Your Genius to the WorldKindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6

Don’t Just Sit There!!

Don’t just do something, sit there.Bumper Sticker

do something

That we must be doing something, constantly, is firmly ingrained in our collective consciousness. And not just that, we’re to feel guilty if we don’t do what’s expected of us or what we expect of self. And because of this epidemic we suffer. Thanks to a friend who alerted me to this quote!

be~zen~do

As previously introduced be~zen~do aptly describes the antidote to this pervasive societal illness. Let’s learn to just be. Let’s inhabit the current moment firmly and completely. Let’s breathe deeply and not for a moment think what needs to be done or what we ought to be worrying about. When we do that often, peace results. Our health blossoms and we’re made ready to receive divine inspiration. So it’s certainly worth a try!

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM OK with just being.

Recommendation: Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There by Sylvia Boorstein

Don't Just Do Something, Sit There: A Mindfulness Retreat with Sylvia BoorsteinKindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6

What We Truly Are…

The kind of world you experience outwardly is the same kind of world you are inwardly.Vernon Howard

inside out

It all flows from the inside. It all emerges from the source. Our experiences and proclivities determine our inner life. And in more ways than we know our inner life determines the outer. The way we interact with others, what we expect from life and how we show up, is all largely determined by our inner mental makeup.

rejig

There are ways to transform the inside if we’re looking to affect the external. The essential idea is Stillness or Meditation. Such a practice opens us up to the deep internal (the spiritual) and the external (experiential). By stilling our incessant thoughts and reducing our worries we’re primed for inspiration from the inside and wisdom from relationship-events. We become the still center that’s peaceful and we tend to allow things to be as they are…

Daily Affirmation: Today I just AM.

Recommendation: The Mystic Path to Cosmic Power by Vernon Howard

The Mystic Path to Cosmic PowerKindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6