FREEDOM FROM EGO TYRANNY
Normally we don’t see our biases for what they truly are -- ego-reinforced restrictions that keep us from realizing our greater possibilities.
Until we realize this we may have no reason or desire to be free of our biases; instead we may dutifully defend them and live within the restrictions that they impose. However, once we’re aware of how they limit and diminish us, we may seek to break free of them.
Higher consciousness training often serves this purpose. And meditation is one of its best tools. But as you practice meditation, know that it’s not an end in itself, only a training -- a way of learning to connect with one’s inner spiritual essence and free the mind from its ego enslavement.
As we do this, we become able to focus the mind in a new way; we begin to see reality more objectively and develop authentic intuition. Thus, a new life and self with greater creative energy and positive potentials becomes possible.
By freeing yourself from the tyranny of your ego biases, you can become the hero of your own life drama.
You may begin to do this simply by observing when strong likes and dislikes attempt to rule you. Then step back and take an impartial view of them ... and choose something different.
As you do this you’ll become free to act more wisely and increase your power to get better outcomes.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
INCREASE AWARENESS ... FORWARD "THOUGHTS TO LIVE BY" TO A FRIEND.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
THE WAY TO HAPPINESS
Is something blocking your happiness?
If you’re not happy it may not be due to being less lucky, deserving or successful than others -- but because you’ve placed many restrictions on happiness, deferring it to the future. You might have told yourself, "When I get everything I want, then I’ll be happy."
But even if you do get everything you want, happiness may still elude you. Because getting what we want only brings temporary good feelings, not happiness. Becoming a happy person requires much more than that. It’s the result of developing a high level of positive awareness -- being able to see value in everything, even in what’s normally considered ‘bad’.
Our possibilities for happiness dramatically increase as we see humor in our failings, misfortune as a chance to test courage and grow stronger, mistakes as valuable lessons to guide success, pain as a call for improving self-awareness and self-care, conflict as an opportunity to improve relating skills, anger as a signal to improve understanding, and beauty as an intrinsic quality inherent in the unique character of most people, places and things.
Happiness also comes as we increase our capacity for gratefulness, generosity, acceptance, authenticity, and compassion, as well as embracing positive ways of thinking and dropping negative ones.
The bottom line: the way to happiness lies not so much in getting all we want, but in upgrading the quality of our consciousness and character.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO A FRIEND.
Is something blocking your happiness?
If you’re not happy it may not be due to being less lucky, deserving or successful than others -- but because you’ve placed many restrictions on happiness, deferring it to the future. You might have told yourself, "When I get everything I want, then I’ll be happy."
But even if you do get everything you want, happiness may still elude you. Because getting what we want only brings temporary good feelings, not happiness. Becoming a happy person requires much more than that. It’s the result of developing a high level of positive awareness -- being able to see value in everything, even in what’s normally considered ‘bad’.
Our possibilities for happiness dramatically increase as we see humor in our failings, misfortune as a chance to test courage and grow stronger, mistakes as valuable lessons to guide success, pain as a call for improving self-awareness and self-care, conflict as an opportunity to improve relating skills, anger as a signal to improve understanding, and beauty as an intrinsic quality inherent in the unique character of most people, places and things.
Happiness also comes as we increase our capacity for gratefulness, generosity, acceptance, authenticity, and compassion, as well as embracing positive ways of thinking and dropping negative ones.
The bottom line: the way to happiness lies not so much in getting all we want, but in upgrading the quality of our consciousness and character.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO A FRIEND.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
THE MASTER ATTITUDE
A simple action, although it may seem insignificant at the time, can make a great difference. It can determine success or failure.
A chess master knows this. He or she may move a pawn just one square forward and change a game’s outcome. An unsuspecting novice may not realize the significance of such a simple move until several moves later. But the chess master knows what the novice may not -- that if the proper counter move is not immediately made, the master has already won; it’s just a matter of playing out the remaining moves until the novice realizes it. (You may have had this kind of experience as a child as you mastered the game of tic tac toe.)
The same applies in life. A simple act can turn out to be a crucial turning point setting off a chain of events having great consequences. For example, an instance of thoughtful action can initiate the unfolding of a great friendship, career, or love relationship. And likewise, a single callous act can set the reverse in motion. Success or failure often hangs in the balance of a single act.
Every master knows this and therefore will always conscientiously make their best effort -- no matter how basic or mundane the task. This is the norm for masters, producing excellent results and great satisfaction in almost everything they do. In Zen this is called ‘right action’.
It’s wise to adopt this attitude. Once you make it your norm, like compounded interest, you’ll realize a great stream of positive returns and a much better life.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO A FRIEND.
A simple action, although it may seem insignificant at the time, can make a great difference. It can determine success or failure.
A chess master knows this. He or she may move a pawn just one square forward and change a game’s outcome. An unsuspecting novice may not realize the significance of such a simple move until several moves later. But the chess master knows what the novice may not -- that if the proper counter move is not immediately made, the master has already won; it’s just a matter of playing out the remaining moves until the novice realizes it. (You may have had this kind of experience as a child as you mastered the game of tic tac toe.)
The same applies in life. A simple act can turn out to be a crucial turning point setting off a chain of events having great consequences. For example, an instance of thoughtful action can initiate the unfolding of a great friendship, career, or love relationship. And likewise, a single callous act can set the reverse in motion. Success or failure often hangs in the balance of a single act.
Every master knows this and therefore will always conscientiously make their best effort -- no matter how basic or mundane the task. This is the norm for masters, producing excellent results and great satisfaction in almost everything they do. In Zen this is called ‘right action’.
It’s wise to adopt this attitude. Once you make it your norm, like compounded interest, you’ll realize a great stream of positive returns and a much better life.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO A FRIEND.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR MIND!
Do you have control of your mind? Does it take you places you never intended to go? ... like in the following case:
"Must do my errands ... now where’d I put keys? ... not on hall table ... how’d that book get there? ... thought I put it back ... did my roommate do it? ... hate when people mess with my things ... damn! ... got to say something ... wish I had my own place ... can’t afford it ... need a raise ... better job ... hate my boss ... always on my back ... glad tomorrow’s Friday ... got to fix resume ... find a better job ... keys not by TV ... wonder what’s on ... (CLICK) ... stock market ... ugh! ... change channel ... what’s this? ... old movie ... I need to sit ... its the Marx bothers ... I remember this funny movie ... (smile) ... Sis hated Groucho ... never understood why ... this part is great! ... (a giggle)... Groucho is great ... so talented, rich, famous, smart ... loved by everyone ... wish I was loved like that ... but no luck dating ... need to do something special ... maybe write a book ... get one good idea and make a fortune ... look at Groucho roll his eyes ... so alive and mischievous ... what a spirit ... wish I could be alive like that ... oh, here comes Harpo ... and the funniest part ... (a giggle, then eighty minutes later) ... movie over ... what time is it? ... getting too late for errands ... there’s the keys ... on trunk ... too late now ... might rain ... oh well, maybe tomorrow ... what else is on TV?"
The mind is often like a pinball, bouncing around erratically without purposeful direction (as the above illustrates). But we can take control of it by monitoring our thoughts and choosing which to follow and which to say NO to. Don’t let random or reactive thoughts misdirect you. To live more successfully, practice noticing when your mind is meandering. Then refocus it and get it back on track.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO A FRIEND.
Do you have control of your mind? Does it take you places you never intended to go? ... like in the following case:
"Must do my errands ... now where’d I put keys? ... not on hall table ... how’d that book get there? ... thought I put it back ... did my roommate do it? ... hate when people mess with my things ... damn! ... got to say something ... wish I had my own place ... can’t afford it ... need a raise ... better job ... hate my boss ... always on my back ... glad tomorrow’s Friday ... got to fix resume ... find a better job ... keys not by TV ... wonder what’s on ... (CLICK) ... stock market ... ugh! ... change channel ... what’s this? ... old movie ... I need to sit ... its the Marx bothers ... I remember this funny movie ... (smile) ... Sis hated Groucho ... never understood why ... this part is great! ... (a giggle)... Groucho is great ... so talented, rich, famous, smart ... loved by everyone ... wish I was loved like that ... but no luck dating ... need to do something special ... maybe write a book ... get one good idea and make a fortune ... look at Groucho roll his eyes ... so alive and mischievous ... what a spirit ... wish I could be alive like that ... oh, here comes Harpo ... and the funniest part ... (a giggle, then eighty minutes later) ... movie over ... what time is it? ... getting too late for errands ... there’s the keys ... on trunk ... too late now ... might rain ... oh well, maybe tomorrow ... what else is on TV?"
The mind is often like a pinball, bouncing around erratically without purposeful direction (as the above illustrates). But we can take control of it by monitoring our thoughts and choosing which to follow and which to say NO to. Don’t let random or reactive thoughts misdirect you. To live more successfully, practice noticing when your mind is meandering. Then refocus it and get it back on track.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO A FRIEND.
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