Archive for March, 2021
Reality
“Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present, the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.” ~Dali Lama
“Tomorrow and plans for tomorrow can have no significance at all unless you are in full contact with the reality of the present, since it is in the present and only the present that you live. There is no other reality than present reality, so that even, if one were to live for endless ages, to live for the future would be to miss the point everlastingly.” ~Alan Watts
It is very challenging to discipline thoughts and feelings that interrupt or dominate the present moment. The internal editor must be ever-diligent, eliminating negative chatter and negative thinking. The gifts of staying focused on the present moment, staying in the present moment, are many, chief among them inner peace. A regular meditation practice is an excellent way to learn to be in the present, and to stay in the present moment.
If you don’t have a regular prayer/meditation practice, I invite you to give it a try. Find a style that works for you, a style that is compatible with who you are and compliments your daily routine. If you have one this might be a good time to assess its effectiveness and make adjustments if necessary.
Blessings!
Mastery Part 2
I am experiencing a strong desire to rise above the current divisive and disruptive national dialogue.
To satisfy this burning desire demands that I engage mastering my emotional responses.
The two essential keys to achieving mastery of emotional and psychic sensitivities are a strong, active belief system, and control of the inner dialogue; especially the thought-words that foment hopelessness, helplessness, and anger that turned inward manifests as depression and dis-ease.
Mastery is a process, not an event. As a process it requires us to be diligent; to consistently monitor our inner dialogue and to set strong boundaries that prevent negative, disruptive and destructive word-thoughts from robbing us of joyful living.
“Self-control is in strength. Calmness is mastery. You have to get to a point where your mood doesn’t shift based on the insignificant actions of someone else. Don’t allow others to control your life. Don’t allow your emotions to overpower your intelligence” ~Morgan Freeman
There is more here…true mastery is achieved when the actions of others that are not insignificant in the way they may affect you, are rendered impotent. You are able to employ these principles and not allow the negative inner dialogue to overwhelm you, to drown you in a sea of unworthiness, anger and despair.
Mastery is achieved through the process of managing the inner dialogue. Engaging in a dedicated practice of changing guilt, shame and pressure words into empowering choice words opens the door to greater creativity and a fuller enjoyment of daily living.
For example, I ‘have to’ get this report done! Look at the angst this creates, ‘have to’, ‘got to’ messages are not going to make the task easy. Yet, changing the words to ‘I choose to’, ‘I want to’ to complete this report, is empowering. You are in charge. You are in control. You ‘want’ to get it done, you ‘choose’ to finish it now. This is choosing to be free from pressure, from procrastination, from destructive self-images and imperious self-judgements.
“You cannot control what happens to you but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you. In that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.” ~Brian Tracy
I believe that this is some of the hardest work we can ever do on the journey to our authentic selves.
Negative words are built into our developing psyche. The ‘cant’s’, ‘have to’, ‘got to’, ‘need to’, ‘should’, ‘should’ve’, ‘must dos’, and ‘dont’s’, will take a great deal of commitment and diligence to change to into choice words, ‘I choose’, ‘I want’, ‘I can’. These are the words that support, encourage and empower; when they become dominant in our inner dialogue, they lead to mastery.
Achieving this mastery leads to greater self-esteem, confidence, and, most importantly vibrant health and robust inner peace.
Blessings!
The Four Agreements IV
The fourth agreement in The Four Agreements is to “Always Do Your Best.” Making this agreement a routine, a habit, assures the implementation and success of the other three.
We don’t try, we do. Often we hold ourselves to unrealistic standards. Believing, for example, that we can watch TV all day yet still find the time and energy to meet the day’s demands. Conversely, we may believe that always doing your best means that always performing prodigiously is a personal standard. Both of these beliefs are inherently flawed.
One cannot twitter away the day and expect to not be rushed, frustrated and unhappy with chores, commitments and goals left undone or only partially completed. Likewise, always doing our best does not mean performing at the same level regardless of what is going on in our life at the moment. For example, you cannot be at the same energetic level of action when your are ill versus when you are in top physical condition.
What is imperative is doing your best in the moment, regardless of whatever circumstances the moment brings. There is no more. There is only the best effort in the moment for the conditions of that moment.
Don Miguel says, “You can only be you when you do your best. When you don’t do your best you are denying yourself the right to be you.” “If you always do your best over and over again, you will become a master of transformation.”
