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.

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.