The quality of awareness characterized by being fully present in the moment is a skill that can be learned and does not require a specific context or challenge to be expressed.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Can You Learn to Control Your Mind?
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Critical Mass of Clutter
In sum: Critical mass of clutter feeds stress events, reduces quality of life, and creates negative loop of mess creation.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Zenity
Sanity - the soundness, rationality and healthiness of the human mind.
Serenity - a disposition free from stress or emotion.
Zenity - Zen in action, through the awareness, acknowledgment, and elimination of thoughts and things that impede sanity and serenity in Life.
Friendship
“It is difficult to see the picture when you are inside of the frame." ~ Author Unknown
In Life, it is crucial to have a person other than yourself helping keep an eye on you. That is the very meaning of friendship.
Very often, more so than you may realize, you are much too close to your own problems to see them clearly, allowing your emotions and / or ego to control you, or perhaps you’re just too much in denial to face them. Having a friend, especially one who has overcome a multitude of similar and vastly different problems within themselves, can be one of the greatest things to ever happen to you.
This other person (or, better yet, persons) must be someone you trust, implicitly. Someone who will never lie to you, treat you hypocritically, never sugar-coat what they say and do for fear of ‘hurting your feelings’ (which they absolutely cannot do, anyway), who will tell you exactly what to do, and be willing to hold you accountable towards yourself and the better goal.
If you have such a friend as this, count yourself truly blessed and loved. If you don’t have such a friend as this, keep moving along your path to find one, or perhaps even become one.
The Zenity of Not Lying
Not only will not being a liar allow your mind to have more sanity and serenity, not lying will also improve your overall physical health.
“I think lying can cause a lot of stress for people, contributing to anxiety and even depression,” said Dr. Bryan Bruno, acting chairman of the department of psychiatry at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. “Lying less is not only good for your relationships, but for yourself as an individual. People might recognize the more devastating impact lying can have on relationships, but probably don’t recognize the extent to which it can cause a lot of internal stress.”
Shoshin
One of my favorite explanations for shoshin comes from Master Yoda, when he says to young Skywalker, “You must unlearn what you have learned.” If you are unwilling to accept a beginner’s state of mind, then how will you ever learn anything? This does not only mean learning some new physical action, it also, and more importantly, applies to learning about yourself.
Intelligence, knowledge, wisdom, expertise, all those things can be just as much a hindrance to you as they can be a benefit, especially if you think and feel that you are dependent on them as a person. You do not have to be. Adopt the state of mind that you had before you knew any of those learned things, and you can better understand the person you really are, and in turn, be the person you really want to be.
Today's Quote
Truth must be found, not beyond your horizon, but in you, in your words, actions, relationships, and ideas. - Krishnamurti
You must FIRST be true and truthful with yourself; only AFTER that is fully accomplished will you ever be able to be true and truthful with anyone else.
Zenity for 2013
Make one of your goals for achieving zenity this year be to eliminate lying and liars from the world (or at least your immediate world), starting with yourself, then branching out to your circle of influence. Of course, look to remove the act of lying first, as the following article helps with. Imagine how fantastically awesome it would be to know all the people in your life talked to you honestly and respectfully. If and when all efforts fail toward that, then do not be afraid to remove the liars from your life. It’s certainly not going to be easy, or painless, but your Life’s sanity and serenity, and the lives of those you love, deserve no less.
Be the Change!
Be the change!
I want to see no liars, therefore, I do not lie.
I want to see no more hypocrites, therefore, I am not hypocritical.
I want to see no more assumptions, therefore, I do not make them.
I want to see people drive better, therefore, I drive according to the law.
I want to see people practice discipline, therefore, I am disciplined.
I want to see more open-minded people, therefore, I am open-minded.
I want to see more dancing in the world, therefore, I dance.
I want to see people playing more games, therefore, I am a gamer.
I want to see more lovers in the world, therefore, I am a lover.
I want to see people be more physically fit, therefore, I am physically fit.
I want to see people be more mentally fit, therefore, I am mentally fit.
I want to see more mindfulness, therefore, I am mindful.
I want to see more zen in the world, therefore, I am zen.
Present Awareness & the Conditioned Ego
Human beings have been conditioned to become creatures of ego, through the manipulation of - amongst others - political, religious, corporate and media institutions.Many of us learn valuable lessons from the episodes in our life that catalyse emotional pain (and remember that nobody can cause you emotional pain – that can only come from within, with your interpretation of their words and/or actions), but what most of us don’t seem to learn is that we need to let that pain go.
These are some of the most important lessons that were taught to me, and some of the most important lessons I strive to teach others. In the words of the immortal Morpheus: “Free your mind.”
The Power of Judgement
So if you really want to become skillful in your thoughts, words, and deeds, you need a trustworthy friend to point out your blind spots. And because those spots are blindest around your unskillful habits, the primary duty of a trustworthy friend is to point out your faults—for only when you see your faults can you correct them; only when you correct them are you benefiting from your friend’s compassion in pointing them out.
This is the friend I strive to be, trustworthy, and the friendship I aim to provide to the world and all people, including myself. Be extremely cautious about any and all 'friends' who are unwilling or unable to be trustworthy, for they will do much more harm than good.
The Helper Syndrome
Simply doing good deeds, or even being a devoted meditator, doesn’t mean anything without the painful honesty that’s required to look at what we’re doing. We must take our heads out of the ground and look at all of the ways we get in our own way—fooling ourselves and obstructing the possibility of living a more open and genuine life.
This excellent article is for people who are stuck in the habit and belief that simply ‘being good’ or ‘kind’ is enough, a belief that is usually connected to, and hidden by, a false pretense of ‘I’m just being me’.
The Kaizen Way
Kaizen (improvement) is a factor that I almost added as one of the basic building blocks of Zenity. Instead, I thought and felt it should be placed in a support role, but it’s still very important.
Also, I did not make small changes in my life during my times of trouble, and still don’t really to this day. I’m the type of person who either does it or doesn’t. The guy in the blog post linked to above follows kaizen to a better degree, and his story is a very good example. Hopefully it’ll give you pause to think of how kaizen might work in your own life, and inspire you towards it.
Today's Quote
You see, the past is past, and the future is yet to come. That means the future is in your hands—the future entirely depends on the present. That realization gives you a great responsibility.
- H.H. the Dalai Lama, “The Experience of Change”
Today's Quote
When you are preoccupied with external, material objects, you blame them and other people for your problems. Projecting that deluded view onto external phenomena makes you miserable. When you begin to realize your wrong-conception view, you begin to realize the nature of your own mind and to put an end to your problems forever.
- Lama Yeshe, “Your Mind is Your Religion”
Today's Quote
Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside,dreams; who looks inside, awakes.
- Carl Jung
Today's Quote
Paying attention provides the gift of noticing, and the gift of connecting. It provides the gift of seeing a little bit of ourselves in others, and of realizing that we’re not so awfully alone. It allows us to let go of the burden of so much of what we habitually carry with us, and receive the gift of the present moment.
- Sharon Salzberg, “A More Complete Attention"
Introduction to Emotional Filters IQ: Perceptual Filters
Perceptual filters are one of the most common, and most troublesome, factors in the cause of a person's stress, strain, and anxiety with Life. It was one of mine, and boy, it was a huge problem. Overcoming the terrible effects it was having on me was not at all easy, and took many years. However, it was absolutely worth every ache and pain I endured.
The topic has again been on my mind and heart lately, as I see others who are being controlled and manipulated by a warped perceptual filter, completely without their knowledge and (I hope) permission, so I aim to address it as best I currently can here soon.
Until then, please read this most excellent article linked to with an open mind (as always), and see if it speaks to you. It just might spark that paradigm shift that leads you to, or closer to, your own zenity.
Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Life
Here’s an older but still very excellent article at OM Times. Pay particular attention to #7, and realize when to employ the opposite; that is, when you have friends that don’t wish to improve their lives, then you should make the changes you feel necessary to keep them from holding you down. Do all you can to help lift them up, but when they refuse to be lifted up, move on and love them from a distance.
Top 20 TED Talks That Can Improve Your Life
Zenity is a big fan of TED, one of the most educational and awesome sites on the Internet. Take a day when you can sit in quiet with a glass of wine and a notebook and watch these videos.
Today's Quote
Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles. Have no friends not equal to yourself. When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.
- Confucius
Today's Quote
This applies equally to your healthy thoughts and unhealthy thoughts, to every decision you make, including how much and how fast you eat, how hard you push your foot down on the gas pedal, to everything you ‘forget’ when there are pen & paper somewhere close by.
Building Your Strength In The Present Moment
“All we have is this second, and at any given point, it can all end.”
Head & Heart Together
“Remember that you don’t have to like or admire someone to feel compassion for that person. All you have to do is wish for that person to be happy.”
Vision and Routine
It is the insight into final freedom—the peace and purity of a liberated mind—that uplifts us and impels us to overcome our limits. But it is by repetition—the methodical cultivation of wholesome practices—that we cover the distance separating us from the goal and draw ever closer to awakening.
Today's Quote
Blessed is the person who sees the need, recognizes the responsibility, and actively becomes the answer.
- William Arthur Ward
An Intentional Life
That's an excellent post from Leo. Which brings to mind my current situation.
Time for an admission of failure here.
An intentional Life, one primarily based on fully realizing each & every choice I make, living each day in open mindfulness, is one of my best strengths. Sharing the how and why of this with others, especially / at least with my closest friends, is not.
I'm currently going through the struggle of accepting that not everyone wants to live with purpose, with meaning, with a mind fully awake, open, and in the here & now. Instead, some people just want to remain forever bound to their self-created blind, deaf, and dumb selves. I believe a proper term here for them is "sheeple", a combination of "people" and "sheep".
I know these sheeple exist; there are about 7 billion humans on the planet, after all. But when you realize they happen to exist right in your life, and there's not a thing you have done or can do to snap them out of it, that's heartbreaking.
What can I do?
Simply be true to my own zenity and accept it.
I by no means will ever condone it, or like it. But I do accept it.
It is what it is.
Today's Quote
Resolve to be a master of change rather than a victim of change. - Brian Tracy
Change the word 'change' to 'choice' and see if it becomes more powerful for you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)