Main Reasons For Turbulence

All these feelings of anxiety and de-realization are there because:

1. YOU are in the future
2. YOU have not resolved the issue at appropriate time and allowed mental snowball to
develop
3. YOU are in the past

Overthinking / Living In The Present

Overthinking the motivations and opinions of people usually leave you feeling anxious or disconnected. You feel that your family, friends, or colleagues are judging your ideas or actions negatively and thus take pains to avoid them. However, creating distance between yourself and those whose opinions you fear may only create greater feelings of anxiety. Try not to overanalyze their words or actions. If someone offers negative feedback (usually this does not happen, it is just the fear that someone will offer negative feedback), accepting it graciously and then moving forward with your plans can help you stay fixed in the present moment. There is time to focus on what the future will bring when it finally arrives.

Living in the moment lets you quiet the internal voices that plague you. Finding the meaning and value in the here and now helps you discover the joy of the moment and disregard the uncertainties of the future. Because what will be has not yet been written, the present is where you must live. You then are able to fully immerse yourself in every task and revel in each moment. Often, when we fear the opinions of others, it is because we are projecting our own fears upon their words. If you can let go of your apprehensions, you’ll find that whatever people say won’t affect you. Choose to live in the moment today, and you can stay grounded and not let opinions of others or your fears about the future sway you from your focus.

Thought Control: discipline of thoughts and subordination of thoughts

Take a seat in a comfortable chair or lie down on a settee. Relax the whole body,close your eyes and observe the train of your thoughts for five minutes, trying to retain it. At first, you will find that there are rushing up to you thoughts concerning everyday affairs, professional worries, and the like. Take the behavior of a silent observer toward these trains of thoughts, freely and independently. According to the mentality and the mental situation you happen to be in at the moment, this exercise will be more or less easy for you. The main point is not to forget yourself, not to lose the train of thoughts, but to pursue it attentively. Beware of falling asleep while doing
this exercise. If you begin to feel tired, stop instantly and postpone the exercise to another time, when you intend not to give in to tiredness. The Indians sprinkle cold water on their faces or rub down the face and upper part of their bodies to remain brisk and not waste precious time. Some deep breathing before you begin will also prevent tiredness and sleepiness. As time goes on, each disciple will find out such little tricks by himself. This exercise of controlling thoughts has to be undertaken in the morning and at night. It is to be extended each day by one minute to allow the
train of thoughts to be pursued and controlled without the slightest digression for a time of 10 minutes at least after a week’s training. This space of time is destined to the average man. If it should not suffice, everyone can extend it according to his own perception. In any event, is advisable to proceed very consciously, because it is of no use to hurry, development being quite individual in men. On no account go further before the preceding exercise is perfectly under control. The attentive disciple will realize how, at the beginning, thoughts rush on to him, how rapidly they pass before him so that he will have difficulty to recollect the lot of manifold thoughts. But from one exercise to the next, he will state that thoughts come up less chaotic, moderating little by little, until at last only a few thoughts emerge in his consciousness, arriving, as it were, from a far distance. The keenest attention ought to be given to this work of thought control, as it is very important for magic development, a fact that everyone will realize later on. 36 Providing that the mentioned exercise has been thoroughly worked through and everyone has a complete command of it in practice, let us pass over to the mental training. Up to now we have learned to control our thoughts. The next exercise will consist in not giving way in our mind to thoughts obtruding themselves on our mind, unwanted and obstinate. For instance, we must be able not to occupy ourselves any longer with the tasks and worries of our profession when we come home from work and return the family circle and privacy. All thoughts not belonging to our privacy must be set aside, and we ought to manage to become quite a different personality instantly. And just the other way round: in our job, all thoughts have to be concentrated in it exclusively, and we must not allow them to digress or wander home, to private affairs, or elsewhere. This has to be practiced time and again until it has developed into a habit. Above all, one ought to accustom oneself to achieve whatever one does with full consciousness, whether in professional work or in private, regardless whether the point is a big one or a trifle. This exercise should be kept for a lifetime, because it is sharpening the mind and strengthening the consciousness and the memory. Having obtained a certain skill in this exercise, you may turn to the following one. The purpose will now be to hold onto a single thought or idea for a longer while, and to suppress any other thoughts associating and obtruding with force on the mind. Choose for this purpose any train of thoughts or ideation or a suitable presentation according to your personal taste. Hold onto his presentation with all your strength. Vigorously refuse all the other thoughts that have nothing to do with the thoughts being exercised. At first you probably will succeed only for a few seconds, later on for minutes. You must manage to concentrate on one single thought and follow it for 10 minutes at least. If you succeed in doing to, you will be fit for a new exercise. Let us then learn how to produce an absolute vacancy of mind. Lie down comfortably on a bed or sofa or sit in an armchair and relax your whole body. Close your eyes. Energetically dismiss any thought coming upon you. Nothing at all is allowed to happen in your mind; an absolute vacancy of mind must reign. Now hold on to this stage of vacancy without digressing or forgetting. At first, you will manage to do so for only a few seconds, but by practicing it more often, you will surely succeed better at it. The purpose of the exercise will be attained if you succeed in remaining in this state for a full 10 minutes without losing your self-control or even falling asleep. Carefully enter your success, failure, duration of your exercises and eventual disturbances into notebook . Such a diary will be useful to check your progress. The greater the scrupulousness you use in doing so, the more easily you will undergo all the other exercises. Prepare a working schedule for the coming day or week, and most of all, indulge in self-criticism.

Wise Thing To Do

A violent and angry man goes to see a Teacher because he is fed up with his mind. He gives him a bowl and two bags. In one bag are black beads and in the other bag are white beads. He tells him to put a white bead in his bowl every time he thinks a healthy and positive thought or performs a good and wholesome act, and to put a black bead in the bowl every time he thinks unhealthy and negative thoughts or performs negative actions.

The man went away with his beads and bowl. To begin with, at the end of each day his bowl was overflowing with black beads and he was not happy.

'Look at all these black beads,' he sighed, 'I will try to do a little better tomorrow.'

Eventually, white beads began to show up in his bowl at the end of each day. He realized that he was getting a little better and that changing habits is possible and we need to be gentle, patient, kind and good to ourselves.

Remember to count your white beads as well as your black ones! We need to be patient with ourselves and others.

Benjamin Franklin Quotes

• Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
• Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.
• He that speaks much, is much mistaken.
• The worst wheel of the cart makes the most noise.
• Admiration is the daughter of ignorance.
• It is easier to prevent bad habits than to break them.
• Energy and persistence conquer all things.
• There are two ways of being happy: We must either diminish our wants or augment our means - either may do - the result is the same and it is for each man to decide for himself and to do that which happens to be easier.
• Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor.
• When in doubt, don't.
• Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.
• Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.
• When you're finished changing, you're finished.
• Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one
• In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.
• Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants.

What steps can be taken to reduce the need for approval

Step 1: Identify and refute the irrational belief that the approval of others is necessary in order for you to feel good about yourself.

Step 2: Identify your fear of: rejection, neglect, abandonment, disapproval, and look for the origins of these fears. Identify rational means to desensitize yourself to these fears.

Step 3: Develop an inventory of the positive attributes you possess. Ask others to assist you in making the list all inclusive.

Step 4: Develop a list of positive affirmation self-talk scripts you can use to affirm yourself on a regular basis.

Step 5: Reflect on your feelings about conflict events. Do not avoid conflict situations, but use positive assertiveness to maintain your position and protect your rights. Emphasize how you feel about the issue by using ``I'' statements.

Step 6: Answer the question: What do I gain if I am agreeable and pleasing to everyone in my life and never take a ``stand'' on how I really feel about things?

Step 7: Develop a list of issues important in your life, those you never let others know about for fear of their reaction to them. Develop a plan of action by which you systematically let others know your beliefs concerning these issues.

Step 8: If you find you are still working out of a need for approval, return to Step 1 and begin again.

Remember WGAS when you are stuck in your approval seeking mode. To get yourself out of it just tell yourself: "Who Gives a Shoot! what they think or say about me. I am OK just the way I am."

http://www.coping.org/relations/aprove.htm

Stay Present Focused

STAY PRESENT FOCUSED: PRACTICE MINDFULNESS
Notice when thoughts or feelings of the past or future intrude on the present; remind yourself as often as necessary that it is here and now, and gently but firmly return your attention to the moment and activities at hand. Dismiss thoughts (barking dog, leaves flowing down the river...)

PRACTICE
Observe your thoughts and feelings as they arise and fall away. Acknowledge and accept whatever thoughts and feelings arise, without analysis or judgment. Release the thoughts and feelings that arise, knowing that others will certainly follow. Stop struggling— allow your thoughts and feelings to rise and fall, and come and go without resistance or struggle.

Mindfulness meditation involves allowing your thoughts, feelings, and images to float through your mind without reacting. In mindfulness, you are simply observing the thoughts and feelings in a detached perspective as "mental events" rather than as aspects of yourself or as necessarily accurate reflections of reality. Through practice, you become more skilled at stepping back and observing without reacting. Mindfulness meditation helps to cultivate a nonjudging self-acceptance, and helps us to recognize that we are not defined by our emotions.

BEING MINDFUL

Most of us move through our lives unconsciously—racing and tearing through our moments, often without conscious awareness of our surroundings or experiences. We spend much of our lives absorbed in our thoughts and visions of a past that is long gone, or a future that has yet to come. In the process, we spend much of our day out of touch with the present moment.

Being mindful means being aware of the present moment; consciously noticing, listening to, smelling, touching and tasting the experiences that we are having in the here and now. It is the practice of paying attention with an open and non-judging attitude to our thoughts and feelings as they come and go, and to the things that happen about and around us in the present moment—moment by moment.

BENEFITS OF MINDFULNESS

• Increased awareness of and focus on the present moment; decreased rumination about past events and future worries or concerns; increased physical and psychological energy; improved physical and psychological health and sense of well-being.
• Improved sense of seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, tasting and being.
• Increased awareness of our internal state (thoughts and feelings, mood, physical sensations); increased insight into ourselves and our relationship with others and the world in which we live; increased sense of self-control, and decreased need to control others or the natural course of life.
• Increased awareness and appreciation of our external surroundings; increased attention to the details of our lives and living; improved quality of life.
• Increased awareness of and appreciation for the people that we interact with on a moment-by-moment basis; improved communication and relationship with others; increased patience with, and understanding of others.
• Improved concentration and ability to focus on one thing or one task at a time; increased efficiency and productivity.
• Decreased tension; increased ability to effectively manage stressful events and moments as they arise; increased ability to create moments of calm and quiet, even in the midst of crisis and chaos; decreased heart rate, decreased blood pressure, increased lung capacity and improved breathing.
• Improved mood; increased emotional stability.
• Increased ability to slow down and rest when rest is needed; improved sleep.

BEGINNING

• Take a few minutes several times a day to pause and simply observe and notice. Focus and re-focus your attention on the present moment. Observe your surroundings: notice where you are, what you are seeing, what you are hearing and smelling, what you are eating and tasting, whom you are with, and so on. Notice how your thoughts and feelings come and go, without warning, rhyme or reason. Notice how your thoughts and feelings are constantly changing, fleeting.
• When your attention strays, as it will, consciously bring it back to the present moment. Allow your thoughts and feelings to rise and fall, come and go—without judging or clinging to them, or trying to subdue them.
• Do one thing at a time, being fully aware of exactly what you are doing from moment to moment. Focus your full attention on whatever action you are taking, whatever task you are doing in the present moment. Notice your body, your thoughts, and your feelings without getting caught up in them, returning your focus over and over again to the present moment, bringing your full attention back to what you are doing.
• Pay attention to the quality of your experience; the sound, the sight, the taste, the touch. Look for and appreciate at least one thing in every experience that you live. Fully savor those moments that bring beauty, peace, happiness and greater wisdom.
• Practice patience with your self; do not fight with the thoughts and feelings that arise or try to stop them, allow them to come and go without judgment, returning your focus and attention over and over again to the present moment—the moment at hand.
• Remind yourself regularly that all we have with any degree of certainty is the present moment.

PRACTICE

The most useful attitudes that you can bring to the following exercises are patience and willingness to practice, practice, practice the art of living in the present moment. Let go of any ideas of where this practice will take you or how it will improve or fix you. Just choose to practice, and to be present—moment-to-moment.

Breathe Mindfully. Sit in a quiet place and focus your full attention on your breath. Inhale deeply, filling your lungs completely; exhale completely, allowing your body to relax and release downward with gravity. Be aware of the coolness of the air as it enters your nostrils; notice your abdomen, diaphragm and lungs expand as the air fills them; notice your body melt downward with gravity, slowly releasing tension as the air is slowly released from your body; notice the pause between breaths, and feel your heart beat. When you become aware that your thoughts are wandering, gently return your attention to your breath; focus and re-focus your attention on your breath. Several times each day, stop and take a letting-go breath, sigh completely.

Walk or Drive Mindfully. While walking or driving, focus your full attention on your surroundings. Pay attention to the road and your driving; notice the sights, the colors and texture of the world that surrounds you; listen to the sounds, smell the smells, feel the breeze as it touches your skin and the warmth of the sun as it touches your body. When thoughts intrude or feelings arise, as they undoubtedly will, observe them, acknowledge them, release them, and return your attention to your surroundings and the moment at hand. When past events or future worries or concerns arise, observe the thoughts or feelings without judgment or clinging; gently remind yourself that it is the present, and that, for the moment, you are focusing only on the present; over and over again, return your attention to your surroundings.

Listen Mindfully. Listen to another person with your full, undivided attention. Be fully present in the moment and interaction. Become aware of your own inner chatter: for example, your thoughts about what you will say in response, or your feelings or judgments about what is being said, or the laundry list of other things that come to mind that you would rather be or should be doing something else, etc. Stop the chatter by saying to yourself “STOP”, and immediately refocus your attention on what the other person is saying. Over and over again, return your full attention to the other person. Listen to their words; be aware of their expressions, body posture, and body language. If you don’t understand, ask for clarification until you do understand what they are trying to say. Return you attention over and over again to what is being said and unsaid.

Pause Mindfully.

• Identity your personal warning signals (i.e. irritability, impatience, decrease frustration tolerance, muscle tension, anger, weariness, etc.) that warn you when you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed, that your life is moving too quickly, that there are too many demands on your person and time, that you are running near empty, or that you are just plain sick and tired. Take or schedule a break from the pace to regroup.
• Pause for one minute every fifty-nine minutes. For a moment, put the world (people, telephones, computers, etc.) on hold. Close your eyes. Inhale deeply and exhale completely while watching the second hand on a clock or watch. Focus and refocus your attention on your breathing and on the second hand on the clock or watched.
• When pressured to give an immediate response or decision, or when your anger arises in the course of conversation with another, either excuse yourself for one minute to breathe and collect your thoughts before responding or continuing the conversation, or quietly inhale and exhale while silently counting to ten (10).
• Ideally, pausing for one (1) minute out of every (60) minutes is the most restful and healing way to practice being mindful.

Eat Mindfully. Especially during work, take time away from your desk to eat your lunch. Look at what you are eating, then close your eyes and focus your full attention on the smell of your food. Breathe slowly, and allow yourself to relax between bites. Chew slowly and savor the taste and texture of the food in your mouth. Even though work waits, remind yourself not to get ahead of yourself; remind yourself to enjoy the present moment, the break from the pace and the food that you are eating.

Thoughts Can Never Bring Happiness

We have a thousand thoughts a day, as to what will make us happy and none of them turn out, they all fall down. Listen carefully, thoughts can never bring happiness. You've tried it, haven't you? You've tried thinking about the way you want the world to be, the way you want someone to treat you. You thought about how you're going to get things in the future and then everything will be all right. It's never worked and you know it. Thoughts can never bring happiness to you because that is not the level of authentic happiness.

~Vernon Howard

Compassion For The Conditioned Mind

• Learn not to criticize the mind for doing what it has been conditioned to do.
• If judgment arises, do not judge the judgment.
• Be willing to face the pain associated with identifying with the conditioned mind. You never experience more than you can handle.
• Let the mind speak when it has a strong urge to do so. Don't fight the mind. Allow it to flow like water under a bridge. Observe this flow without being caught in it.
• Trust your intention to do no harm.
• Forgive any hurt that you have caused others due to ignorance.
• Forgive others any hurt that they have caused you due to ignorance.
• Be grateful for your difficulties. They point out where you need to grow.
• Recognize that it is not "your" mind -- it is just the conditioned mind.
• Take time to play. Let the mind relax.
• Maintain balance in all areas of your life.
• Include yourself in your practice of generosity.
• Spend some time each day offering loving kindness to your conditioned mind.
• If difficult mental states arise in the mind, follow Rumi's suggestion to "meet them at the door laughing and invite them in." Hold them in the heart the way we would treat a naughty child. We don't throw them out of our heart.
• Appreciate this human vehicle that you have for coming to freedom.
• When fear can be observed as a conditioned phenomenon, it loses its power -- for it is not being fed with aversion. When its not fed, it dies a natural death.

What you resist, persists. What you look at disappears.

Declutter The Mind

It is said, “Happiness is how you arrange the thoughts in your mind.”

It’s kind of like decluttering, organizing and rearranging your physical stuff and things when you feel distracted, frustrated and out-of-control in your outer environment. This is just Inner Clutter!!

Learning how to order, choose, organize and arrange our thoughts, beliefs and perceptions is the key to not only our happiness, but our present and future life experiences as well. There have been plenty of mornings I’ve awakened to mental chatter. High volume. Imagery rich. Not all positive. Creating chaos and panic before I even open my eyes. I hate that!

If you ever have this happen, whether in the morning, at night before you go to sleep, or anytime of the day, you know how distracting it is and how it can create a downward spiral of thoughts, laced with fear and insecurity, running and ruining the rest of your day. One of the techniques I use to stop my mental monkeys from flying through the trees of my head is to use self-inquiry.

Self-inquiry is the use of clear, self-directed questions over and over until the thought storm stops. When I do this, I feel more at center, relaxed and then begin again from a clean slate and peaceful place to choose my next thoughts and actions. Some of my self-inquiry statements include:

- What does this have to do with me?
- Whose problem is it?
- Where did I just go? (Fear and panic thoughts take us out of the present and into the past an future.)
- Where am I going with this thought?
- How does this thought/beliefs serve me?
- What else could I be thinking right now?

Our thoughts affect our adrenaline and hormonal balance. There is a mind/body connection. The more we let chaos reign in our minds, the more our lives will mirror these thoughts and feelings and the more stress we ping around in our body creating disease and illness.

In order to stop thoughts-gone-wild from taking over our mind, we must become conscious enough to know it’s happening, get that it’s not for our good, that we have the power and responsibility to change it, that worrying about things won’t make them change, and that we can change our thoughts and options in an instant . . . or over a few minutes of time.

Bigger picture: changing our thoughts helps to change our actions and behavior

Mind Chatter

A young man after another night of restless sleep finally decided to go and see Nowcleomind the wise elder. Setting off he arrived at the cabin of Nowcleomind and joined him on the porch. The young man asked what could he do about all the thoughts that were running through mind constantly. Ah, said Nowcleomind; the ghosts in the machine and took a sip of his tea. Ghosts? I don't understand what you mean said the young man. The nature of mind is interpret what is going on in the environment around you and within you. When the mind is not directed it babbles like a brook and runs on like a tape recorder. Thoughts are like ghosts having no substance until you dwell on them.

What can I do to stop it asked the young man?

Nowcleomind said ; I want you to close your eyes and just follow your breathing in and out. Do nothing special just follow your breath. The young man shrugged and closed his eyes and started paying attention to his breathing. Nowcleomind watched closely until he saw that the young man had relaxed and his breathing had calmed. Then he said I want you to listen to your heart beat as you are following your breath. Don't do anything special just follow your breathing and listen to your heart beat.

After about 5 minutes the young man opened his eyes and smiled.

If your mind chatter is getting out of hand then breathe and listen.

Why be afraid of tomorrow when today is all we have?

A Sullen, Wandering Mind

The man who wishes to prove himself always in the right, in everything that he does, sees, hears, and discusses, and who will not give way and be silenced, will never be at peace in himself, and will have a barren, sullen, and wandering mind; he will prey upon himself, even though he be left in peace by all, and is tried by no outward pressure.

Steps To Quiet The Chaotic Mind

Worry, frustration, confusion, sleeplessness and fear are all components of the chaotic mind, making just one simple goal difficult to achieve and the success you greatly desire remains elusive.

There is no success in a mind of chaos. One needs to attain peace and calmness in the mind in order to encourage positive thoughts. A daily regiment of positive affirmations is paramount to your success.

Normally one finds it very difficult to manage and control the mind. Sometimes, one may feel that the mind is similar to a balloon, blown by the wind, taken to any direction and circumstance the wind takes it. When things come out well, the mind is contented, but when things go badly, instantly the mind becomes very unhappy.

Because the mind and one’s emotions are connected, a disturbance in one will distract the coordination and harmony of the two. For instance, when one gets the result or the relationship that he wants, such as a partner, a job promotion or a new car, one bonds to it very tightly.

However, because often, these possessions and relationships are uncontrollable, the moment that one is separated from all these causes so much pain. And all the negative emotions causes chaos.

Such mood fluctuations arise for the main reason that one is closely attached with the outside situation. However, when the mind is relaxed, one makes an inner room and clearness which enables one to control and manage the mind despite the external situation.

Gradually one develops mental balance, which is a state of the mind that is happy and positive always; confused mind moves back and forth between the intemperance of despondency and excitement.

In meditation, one can achieve a peaceful and calm mind that is free of worries and anxiety, so one can experience happiness, encouraging and attracting positive behavior; a chaotic mind, only attracts negative feelings and behavior, therefore it is a barrier to setting and achieving goals.

With a chaotic mind one will have a hard time experiencing happiness, even when one is already in the best of circumstances. Constant meditation trains the mind to gradually be more and more cheerful and peaceful, eventually experience balance and happiness, being able to stay positive even in the most complicated or worst situations. This is a state of mind that is very crucial to achieving success.

The mind is like a station, sending out energy or power signals (your beliefs and thoughts). These energy and power patterns are then grasped by the subconscious mind that is responsible for creating the circumstances, situations and events to assist one in achieving what one’s beliefs, thoughts and goals are.

The subconscious mind never distinguishes what is bad or good for you; it only acts on what instructions it receives from the conscious mind, meaning what your thoughts and beliefs are.

So while there is that desire in you that you want to accomplish a certain goal, if you do not truly believe and truly trust that will be able to, if you, with your chaotic mind constantly think about the reason why you can not achieve something rather than why it will be easy for you to do it, then you will be sending instruction to your "subconscious mind" to establish certain circumstances in which it will be difficult for you to accomplish your goals.

This is the reason why negative thoughts should be eliminated and only entertain positive thoughts, all the time.

Constant positive affirmations likewise attract positive situations, and influence the subconscious to create a situation favorable to you. Affirmations are positive thoughts spoken with great trust, faith and absolute power that what you say, you will accomplish. In addition to these positive affirmations your goals success can be insured by writing them down.

Remember, first and foremost to keep a focused mind and never entertain negative thoughts. However, should a negative thought enter your mind, block it off with positive thinking and never, never affirm it. For like the chaotic mind, verbal affirmations can greatly affect your attitude towards accomplishing your goals.

Never be a prisoner of the chaos in your mind. Release all those hurts, frustration and anger that you feel deep inside. Look at the world in a different point of view and believe that you can accomplish anything as long as you have faith in you that you can.

There is no success in chaos, and chaos will not lead to success. It is balancing the mind, releasing all stress that the mind feels, letting go of all negative thoughts and making a clear image of the life that you want to live, can there be success.

~Arthur Luff (http://www.isnare.com/?aid=117229&ca=Self+Help)

Raja Yoga

Sleep, tossing of mind, attachment to objects, subtle desires and cravings, laziness, lack of dedication, greed are all obstacles in your life. Reduce your wants. Cultivate dispassion. Detachment thins out the mind. Never wrestle with the mind. Do not use any violent efforts at concentration. If thoughts enter your mind, do not use your will force in driving them. You will tax your will. You will lose your energy. You will fatigue yourself. The greater the efforts you make, the more the thoughts will return with redoubled force. Be indifferent. Become a witness of those thoughts. They will pass away. If you can restrain the mind from forming into modifications, there will be no distortion, and you will experience your true Self. Never miss a day in meditation. Regularity is of paramount importance. When the mind is tired, do not concentrate.

A still mind sees what is. A busy mind sees what is not.

Before, you saw your situation and your own importance and you needed to guard your identity, to control the situation. Now, when you see no division between yourself and others, when you are no more or no less important than others, only now are you able to grasp the whole situation, as it is, with clarity. Now you see very clearly where the problem lies, and instead of reacting, you simply act.

Causes Of All Suffering

Ignorance, intentional impulses, craving, clinging and becoming

Clinging

When you feel anxious, ask yourself,
"What idea am I clinging to?
And then, "Is it worth the stress?"

Let things go. Release them. Detach yourself from them. Nobody plays this life with marked cards, so sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. Do not expect anything in return, do not expect your efforts to be appreciated or your genius to be discovered

The Art Of Doing Nothing

Start by doing nothing while you are waiting in line, at the doctor’s office, on a bus, or for a plane. Wait, without reading a newspaper or magazine, without talking on the phone, without checking your email, without writing out your to-do list, without doing any work, without worrying about what you need to do later. Wait, and do nothing. Concentrate on your breathing, or try one of the relaxation techniques. Concentrate on those around you — watch them, try to understand them, listen to their conversations.

Next, try doing nothing when you drive. Yes, you must drive, but try to do nothing else. Don’t listen to music or news or an audiotape. Don’t multi-task. Don’t talk on your cell phone, don’t eat, and don’t do your makeup. Just drive. Concentrate on your driving, look at the things you are passing, and feel your breathing. Relax yourself, and don’t worry about the other drivers (but don’t crash into them!). Drive slowly, going easy on the gas and brake pedals. This technique has a great side-effect: better gas mileage.

Last, try doing nothing in the middle of chaos, in your workplace or other stressful environment. Just shut everything out, close your eyes, and think about your breathing. Try a relaxation technique. Do this for 5-10 minutes at a time, building up to 20-30 minutes. If you can do this, in the middle of a stressful day at work or with the kids, you will allow yourself to focus more fully on the task at hand. You will be relaxed and ready to concentrate, to bring yourself into a state of flow.

Finally, the Art of Doing Nothing cannot be mastered overnight. It will take hours and hours of practice, of hard work (doing nothing isn’t easy!). But you will enjoy every minute of it! Try it today.

Detach from the inner storms, stand back and observe the hurricane pass.

Going Beyound The Mind

A level of maturity is reached when nothing external is of any value, and the heart is ready to relinquish all. Then the real has a chance and it grasps it. Delays, if any, are caused by the mind being unwilling to see or discard.

(514) The world is but the surface of the mind and the mind is infinite. What we call thoughts are just ripples in the mind. When the mind is quiet it reflects reality. When it is motionless through and through, it dissolves and only reality remains.

(484) Understand your own mind and its hold on you will snap. The mind misunderstands; misunderstanding is its very nature. Right understanding is the only remedy.

(520) The mind cannot go beyond itself by itself. It must explode. The explosive power comes from the real. But you are well advised to have your mind ready for it.

(522) No state of mind can be more real than the mind itself. Is the mind real? It is but a collection of states, each of them transitory. How can a succession of transitory states be considered real? The illusion of being the body-mind is there only because it is not investigated.

(134) All exists in the mind, even the body is an integration in the mind of a vast number of sensory perceptions, each perception also a mental state. Think of yourself. Only don't bring the idea of a body into the picture. There is only a stream of sensations, perceptions, memories and ideations. The body is an abstraction, created by our tendency to seek unity in diversity.

(135) A quiet mind is all you need. All else will happen rightly, once your mind is quiet. As the sun on rising makes the world active, so does self-awareness affect changes in the mind. In the light of calm and steady self-awareness, inner energies wake up and work miracles without any effort on your part.

(311) The mind can talk only of what it knows. If you diligently investigate the knowable, it dissolves and only the unknowable remains. But with the first flicker of imagination and interest the unknowable is obscured and the known comes to the fore-front. The known, the changing, is what you live with; the unchangeable is of no use to you. It is only when you are satiated with the changeable and long for the unchangeable that you are ready for the turning round and stepping into what can be described, when seen from the level of the mind, as emptiness and darkness. For the mind craves for content and variety, while reality is, to the mind, content-less and invariable.

(436) Don't struggle with it (mind); just disregard it. Deprived of attention, it will slow down and reveal the mechanism of its working. Once you know its nature and purpose, you will not allow it to create imaginary problems. ...It is memory and anticipation that create problems of attainment or avoidance, colored by like and dislike.

(475) The problem is not yours - it is your mind's only. Begin by disassociating yourself from your mind. Resolutely remind yourself that you are not the mind and that its problems are not yours.

(125) How can an unsteady mind make itself steady? Of course it cannot. It is the nature of the mind to roam about. All you can do is to shift the focus of consciousness beyond the mind.

(18) Leave your mind alone, that is all. Don't go along with it. After all, there is no such thing as mind apart from thoughts which come and go obeying their own laws, not yours. They dominate you only because you are interested in them.

(350) It is the mind that tells you that the mind is there. Don't be deceived. All the endless arguments about the mind are produced by the mind itself, for its own protection, continuation and expansion. It is the blank refusal to consider the convolutions and convulsions of the mind that can take you beyond it.

(321) Having never left the house you are asking for the way home. Get rid of wrong ideas, that is all. Collecting right ideas also will take you nowhere. Just cease imagining. Don't try to understand! Enough if you do not misunderstand. Don't rely on your mind for liberation. It is the mind that brought you into bondage. Go beyond it altogether.

(206) General knowledge develops the mind, no doubt. But if you are going to spend your life in amassing knowledge, you build a wall round yourself. To go beyond the mind, a well-furnished mind is not needed.

(50) The window is the absence of the wall, and it gives air and light because it is empty. Be empty of al mental content, of all imagination and effort, and the very absence of obstacles will cause reality to rush in.

(260) Too much analysis leads you nowhere. There is in you the core of being which is beyond analysis, beyond the mind. You can know it in action only. The legitimate function of the mind is to tell you what is not. But if you want positive knowledge, you must go beyond the mind.

(341) Before you can know anything directly, non-verbally, you must know the knower. So far, you took the mind for the knower, but it is not so. The mind clogs you up with images and ideas, which leave scars in memory. You take remembering to be knowledge. True knowledge is ever fresh, new, unexpected. It wells up from within. When you know what you are, you also are what you know. Between knowing and being there is no gap.

(520) To know what you are, you must go beyond the mind. Awareness is the point at which the mind reaches out beyond itself into reality. In awareness you seek not what pleases, but what is true.

~Nisargadatta Maharaj

Mechanical Process

I can recognize that my mind is a mechanical process in which when I think something it responds with physical sensation and can change mood. Therefore the way I respond to all events is my responsibility and blaming others for what I perceive is an attempt to create an alternative reality. There is only reality, there is no such thing as an alternative reality, so my task in accepting and observing is best made without judgment. If I perceive a dilemma of any sort, I aspire to accept without judgment or interference.

1. cчастье заключается в том, чтобы ХОЧУ, МОГУ и ДОЛЖЕН имели одно и то же содержание.
2. ищи правильный путь, а не прямой.
3. хочешь быть полезным для других — живи для себя.
4. подумал — реши, решил — действуй
5. хочешь жить спокойно — не оказывай благодеяний.
6. оказывая осознанно благодеяние, не жди благодарности.
7. не бойся ошибаться — неудача в семь раз полезнее успеха
8. не бойся, когда тебя критикуют —упрек и критика в семь раз полезней похвалы. Но сам не упрекай и не критикуй, особенно бесплатно.
9. хочешь иметь врагов — иронизируй
10. не пытайся изменить обстоятельства и других людей, а меняй себя и приспосабливайся к обстоятельствам.
11. Кто тебе льстит — обманет, кто тобою восхищается — предаст.
12. Каждый воспитывает своего предателя сам.
13. старайся быть, а не казаться.
14. Есть единственная причина для огорчения — остановка в личностном росте.
15. есть много причин, препятствующих счастью, но три из них основные — страх, зависть и чувство вины. И все они в самом человеке.
16. счастье — вещь тяжелая, и когда оно сваливается на слабого, то в лучшем случае оно с него скатится, в худшем — раздавит.
17. Способность любить и хорошо переносить одиночество — показатель духовной зрелости. Все самое лучшее мы делаем, когда находимся в одиночестве.
18. Духовно пустой человек плохо переносит одиночество и общается, чтобы брать.
19. Духовно зрелый человек хорошо переносит одиночество и общается для того, чтобы отдать.
20. Плохо переносит одиночество тот, кто противен сам себе. Он идет в общество и думает, что другим он не будет противен. Глубокое заблуждение!
21. Одиночество для человека, как вода для кита, а общение — как кислород. И если от одиночества нельзя избавиться, то его следует использовать.
22. намечай великое, но довольствуйся и малым.
23. Знай свое место — и всегда будешь первым.
24. Не называй дурака дураком, чтобы самому не стать дураком.
25. старайся понравиться прежде всего самому себе, а затем начальнику и сексуальному партнеру. Остальные пусть заботятся о том, чтобы тебе понравиться.
26. Хочешь узнать своего главного врага — посмотри в зеркало. Справься с ним — остальные разбегутся
27. Если будешь помогать себе сам, то и другие тебе помогут; если будешь вредить себе сам, то и другие будут вредить тебе.
28. Если ты сам ничего не делаешь, как тебе можно помочь? Управлять можно только движущимся автомобилем.
29. Не конфликтуй: с умным договорись, дурака обмани
30. Глупо говорить глупому умные вещи.
31. Прежде чем менять место работы или место жительства, вначале измени себя.
32. Хочешь приобрести врагов — советуй. Чем лучше совет, тем мощнее враг.
33. Будь осторожен с теми, кто говорит: «Вы меня не поняли», «Я с вами не согласен».
34. Заботься о другом, и не останешься без вины; заботься о себе, и никогда не будешь виноватым
35. Если тревожно — присядь пятьдесят раз.
36. Не тревожься о других — они не глупее тебя. Если хочешь уничтожить близких, тревожься о них.
37. Не бойся выглядеть трусом, а бойся быть им.
38. Депрессия для того и дана человеку, чтобы подумать о себе.
39. Когда человек в тоске, не предлагай ему «взять себя в руки», а восхищайся его выдержкой.
40. Физическая боль выводит из тоски.
41. Если не можешь дать определение понятия, не пользуйся им.
42. Tот, кто не с тобой, не всегда против тебя.
43. Делая свое дело, не думай о результате, а думай, как его лучше сделать.
44. Не старайся избавиться от неудач. Лучше разбавь их успехами.
45. Не доверяй тайны врагу, чтобы он не причинил тебе вреда. Не доверяй тайну другу, чтобы не причинить ему вреда.
46. Не знаешь, что делать, лучше ничего не делай.
47. Выбирай себе дело, которое соответствует твоим способностям.
48. Будь о себе хорошего мнения и опирайся только на себя, тогда и другие тебе помогут.
49. Если не хочешь впасть в депрессию, ничего не делай, чтобы тебя полюбили. Даже пальцем нельзя шевелить ради этого.
50. Почувствовал себя обиженным — подумай, нет ли в тебе того, в чем тебя обвинили.
51. Когда человека преследуют болезни, он должен тщательно исследовать свои поступки.
52. Необходима твердость духа в несчастии, но еще более — в счастии.

Find Yourself. Know Yourself. Own Yourself.

You are never rejected or scorned by anyone. Only your wrong ideas about yourself are spurned. Suppose you receive a stern letter that dismisses you from a club. Knowing that a mistake has been made, that you never belonged to the club, no pain occurs. Likewise, you don't really belong to earthly pains . You belong to who you really are. Find yourself. Know yourself. Own yourself.

~Vernon Howard

Issha Zetsumei: One Shot and Expire

"Issha Zetsumei" is a Japanese phrase whose image provides a masterful foundation for the art of pistol shooting. When translated to English it means literally "one shot and expire." The saying conjures the image of the last act of a dying man - a shooter summarizing his entire life with a single shot. In other words, the goal is to establish in your mind that you have no other purpose or concern in life than to properly execute the current shot.

Calmness of spirit in all circumstances, acting spontaneously without restraint, acting without concern for public recognition, seeing things as they truly are, and realizing that every day is a fine day are positive qualities that are already within us.

Greed, competitiveness, vanity, self-criticism, shyness, fear, need for approval - are but a few of the personality traits that can lead to delusive thoughts that cloud our awareness. We must recognize these flaws before we can transcend them. Recognize that life is an ongoing struggle with the ego, a battle with oneself. In this battle, one must face physical and psychological pain in order to experience the fruits of victory. From our practice, one learns to endure pain and austerity, delay gratification, concentrate fully on the task of the moment, each moment, and refine form to the n^th degree. The ultimate objective of our continued practice is losing the ego and realizing the freedom of the true Self.

Quite possibly, a person's most powerful weapon for survival and success is the ability to believe in oneself. It is true that one of the most difficult points in the practice of any Zen art is coming to terms with the fact that we alone are responsible for everything that happens. As a result, this reality creates a natural stress arising from doubts of our ability to perform well. However, it can be said that these self-doubts are nothing more than delusional thoughts. Just as you do not drive to work every day fearing that you are going to be fired, you cannot allow thoughts of the fear of failure cloud your mind. It is imperative that any stress we experience be identified in order that we can set our delusional thoughts aside. Once identified, stress can be seen as a positive thing. Armed with self-confidence, stress can be re-channeled into positive energy for the intense mental concentration that is necessary to succeed.

Our first priority in preparing to do anything is to bring all of our awareness to the present. The routine processes of taking our stance and focusing on our breathing should act as a trigger to automatically bring our thoughts fully to the moment at hand. To understand this mindset, try to picture the image of a digital clock - this instrument has no sense of past or future; all it has is the moment. Surely you've watched one to see how it changes - take this as a challenge to "catch the ceaseless flow of quality in the passing moment." How much quality can you compress into any moment by simply being there and nowhere else? This is the magic and life-lesson of our art.

Any number of delusive thoughts can distract us and cloud our minds at any moment. It can be thoughts of trying aspects of our daily lives such as work, finances or relationships that can intrude our concentration. But the thoughts that are most difficult to keep from following are those relating to our performance itself. Each day should be lived without any regard for past performance or to one's performance in the future - concern about how the aggregate score is going to be affected cannot be a consideration. However, the truth is that most of the internal dialogue that people have in their minds center upon thinking about and planning what they will do. These thoughts are delusive - this planning for the future simply keeps them from concentrating fully on the present and impairs their performance. "Have you ever gone on a well-deserved vacation and in the middle of all of the fun and relaxation found yourself thinking about when the trip will end?" asks Sensei Dan DeProspero. Everyone has done so - and this is precisely the delusional type of thinking we must avoid.

Anyway

People are often unreasonable, Illogical,
and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you
of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful,You will win some
false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you have anyway.

You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

~Kent Keith

Take Responsibility

It is often tragic to see how blatantly a man bungles his own life and the lives of others yet remains totally incapable of seeing how much the whole tragedy originates in himself, and how he continually feeds it and keeps it going.

~Carl Gustav Jung