HAVING A HIGHER LIFE
We all know about higher enjoyments because we all experience them from time to time -- creative expression, loving connection, beauty, etc. The key to elevating our experience of life is to increase the frequency of such exquisitely fulfilling moments until we can have them often everyday.
Enjoyments are good; they affirm and give meaning to life. But you may have noticed, as I have, that with physical pleasure, we quickly reach a point of saturation beyond which there is a diminishing return. We can eat or have sex only so much until we find enjoyment turns into indifference ... and if pushed far enough, can even turn into repulsion, distress or pain.
However, higher enjoyments are more spiritual in nature and don’t play out this way. When we’re creating, loving, giving and joyfully playing, the excitement and pleasure we feel is tremendously expansive and we don’t easily reach a saturation point. What’s more, we set a chain reaction in motion. Instead of the pleasure diminishing, it magnifies and multiplies. This is because higher enjoyments come from expanding our sense of self and putting our spiritual goodness out into the world. And this usually increases our positive energy and brings us some good in return.
We may call this living in creative spirit. It’s what I believe having a divine life is truly about. The more we enjoy ourselves at this higher level, the more fulfilled and whole (‘holy’) we are.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO FRIENDS.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
KEY TO EXPANDING AWARENESS
While thought guides many of our decisions and actions it can also disconnect us from reality. There have been times when I’ve actually ‘seen’ a nickel instead of a quarter in my hand because a thought told me that was what to expect.
Thought has an important function but there are many times when it can actually get in our way. It can become a barrier to experiencing and knowing, and sometimes even worse. Has any of the following happened to you?
Did you ever get so lost in thought that you crossed the street without looking; left your house and didn’t know if you locked the door; didn’t hear what someone said; read many words on a page without registering their meaning; missed your train stop or a highway exit; didn’t know where you put your keys, etc.
It’s not unusual for such things to occur; we may often lose contact with the surrounding world, make false assumptions, and act unconsciously when lost in thought.
Thus, a simple secret to expanding awareness: FOCUS ON WHAT’S HAPPENING EACH MOMENT WITHOUT DRIFTING OFF INTO THOUGHT OR MAKING ASSUMPTIONS!
When you need time to think something out, take it. But for the most part stay focused in the HERE and NOW. That’s where life is actually unfolding and when actions cause outcomes.
The more sharply and clearly we experience the reality of each moment, the more successful we can be at taking the appropriate actions for getting the good results that we want.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO FRIENDS.
While thought guides many of our decisions and actions it can also disconnect us from reality. There have been times when I’ve actually ‘seen’ a nickel instead of a quarter in my hand because a thought told me that was what to expect.
Thought has an important function but there are many times when it can actually get in our way. It can become a barrier to experiencing and knowing, and sometimes even worse. Has any of the following happened to you?
Did you ever get so lost in thought that you crossed the street without looking; left your house and didn’t know if you locked the door; didn’t hear what someone said; read many words on a page without registering their meaning; missed your train stop or a highway exit; didn’t know where you put your keys, etc.
It’s not unusual for such things to occur; we may often lose contact with the surrounding world, make false assumptions, and act unconsciously when lost in thought.
Thus, a simple secret to expanding awareness: FOCUS ON WHAT’S HAPPENING EACH MOMENT WITHOUT DRIFTING OFF INTO THOUGHT OR MAKING ASSUMPTIONS!
When you need time to think something out, take it. But for the most part stay focused in the HERE and NOW. That’s where life is actually unfolding and when actions cause outcomes.
The more sharply and clearly we experience the reality of each moment, the more successful we can be at taking the appropriate actions for getting the good results that we want.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO FRIENDS.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
WHAT ASSURES HAPPINESS?
What assures happiness? Is it a matter of continually getting what we want?
Close self-observation may show that simply getting what we want doesn’t produce happiness. Each time we get what we want, we may feel good for a while, but then our focus shifts to a new want and the good feeling disappears. Thus, getting what we want only produces momentary good feelings, not happiness.
Even continually getting everything that we want might not produce happiness or be good for us. If all our wishes were filled instantaneously, it could actually result in boredom, lack of motivation and disenchantment with life.
So if you thought getting what you want will make you a happy person, think again. The reality is that happiness doesn’t come from getting ... it comes from feeling whole and self-contained and from appreciating and giving.
The more we value and appreciate what life constantly offers and appreciate our abundance, value, goodness and well-being through giving, the happier we are.
Happiness also depends on our expectations and how we define our needs. People who form excessively high or unrealistic expectations may rarely feel satisfied or happy with themselves or with life, while those who have realistic expectations often do.
So if you want to assure happiness, don’t get caught up in expectations; simply appreciate and value all the goodness that life is constantly providing ... and give more of yourself.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO A FRIEND.
What assures happiness? Is it a matter of continually getting what we want?
Close self-observation may show that simply getting what we want doesn’t produce happiness. Each time we get what we want, we may feel good for a while, but then our focus shifts to a new want and the good feeling disappears. Thus, getting what we want only produces momentary good feelings, not happiness.
Even continually getting everything that we want might not produce happiness or be good for us. If all our wishes were filled instantaneously, it could actually result in boredom, lack of motivation and disenchantment with life.
So if you thought getting what you want will make you a happy person, think again. The reality is that happiness doesn’t come from getting ... it comes from feeling whole and self-contained and from appreciating and giving.
The more we value and appreciate what life constantly offers and appreciate our abundance, value, goodness and well-being through giving, the happier we are.
Happiness also depends on our expectations and how we define our needs. People who form excessively high or unrealistic expectations may rarely feel satisfied or happy with themselves or with life, while those who have realistic expectations often do.
So if you want to assure happiness, don’t get caught up in expectations; simply appreciate and value all the goodness that life is constantly providing ... and give more of yourself.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO A FRIEND.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
REMEMBERING YOURSELF
How self-aware are you? If you’re like most people, you usually go through the day with dim self-awareness, habitually and automatically reacting to daily events. Then continuing the same less-conscious process over and over again.
This is how we normally live; we have little or no awareness of the forces that actually run us ... nor are we very aware of the pure intelligence that exists at our core that can change our lives greatly and for the better. Until we can live with more self-awareness, we’re fated to live with a restricted capacity for happiness and success. To do otherwise, we need to make a great self-awareness breakthrough.
Once we realize this, we soon come to a key life choice -- to either try to ‘awaken’ to a higher level of self-awareness ... or not. If one chooses to awaken, then the practice of SELF-REMEMBERING can be of great help.
Self-remembering is making a special effort throughout each day to remember to observe one’s own behavior -- to be watchful of ourselves and try to detect our behaviors’ root causes as well as we can. Also, to connect with the pure objective intelligence that underlies the conditioned layers of mind from which we normally operate.
Self-remembering is a key practice for developing a more highly aware and functioning self. But it can be difficult to ‘awaken’ from the normal habit of living on autopilot. This is often why the help of a teacher is needed. Without someone continually spurring us on, it’s much too easy to remain in the usual dim level of self-awareness and unconscious living to which we’re all prone.
Practice REMEMBERING YOURSELF. It can lead you to make a great personal consciousness breakthrough and live more successfully.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO A FRIEND.
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