Cultivate the Stillness Within

One of our best resources is ourselves. As covered in the last two posts a key element for staying on track for our goals, vision or purpose is checking our happiness quotient. We can only do this in moments of quiet reflection. One of the key benefits of a retreat, a pilgrimage, meditation, a walk in the woods, yoga or any similar activity is that it gives us time away from our everyday distractions. It is impossible to have quiet time if we are wired 24/7 or rushing constantly from task to task. All the great thinkers from Buddha to Albert Einstein made time for reflection. All great religions advocated the benefits of pilgrimages and retreats.

Why?

Free from the burdens of normal everyday living our mind can drop the need to act or respond immediately to outside activities. We can ask ourselves questions and in reflection let the answers unfold. It is in the quiet moments that we realign ourselves with our purpose, rediscover what makes us happy, find creative solutions to perplexing problems, find the things we are grateful for, and put problems into perspective. The mind like a muscle needs the relaxation to regroup, refresh and grow. 

The amount of time we take does depend on our obligations but there will always be at least 15 minutes a day that we can take for ourselves. Just like we take care of the need to eat and sleep; we need to take the time for reflection.

Take the time to be present with ourselves daily and we will always be on track for our destination and enjoying our journey on the way.

Technorati tags: success in life, thinking skills, reflection, purpose

Happiness as a Purpose

I remember reading Edward De Bono's "The Happiness Purpose" years ago and later on the quote "The purpose of our lives is to be happy" by the Dalai Lama and thinking it can't be that simple and went on my way trying to find my purpose in life. I searched and read and searched again looking into every nook and cranny of my mind. Tried various programs, read the the gurus of finding your purpose, followed every avenue I could find, tried to the lose the selfish I, and finally came full circle back the Dalai Lamas' statement and found that it is true.

Why?

It is both I and we. It is I because the only person on this earth that can define happiness for me; is me. Selfish of me isn't it. Happiness is a feeling I have and I have complete control over it. I choose what I allow to affect it; no one else has that power unless I give it to them. It is we because it is the feelings I get when I am part of some one elses happiness whether as a cause or in the sharing. I have to pay attention and really get to know the other person and it is a natural extension of my happiness to seek ways that will aid in another's happiness. (Always remember that you cannot make someone else happy unless they want to be happy themselves.) It starts with the I and moves to the we and back to the I. A constantly revolving and evolving circle.

If you want to know your purpose in life. Don't look outside for someone else to provide it. You won't find it there. Look at what makes you happy. Are your relationships making you happy? If yes, pursue them, indulge in them. Is your career making you happy. If yes, then pursue and immerse yourself in it. Does working for or with charities make you happy? Then go for it. Is the balance between your activities making you unhappy? Then seek and find a balance that makes you happy. If you don't know what makes you happy then go seek it out.

Before you dismiss it like I did for so many years as being to simplistic and not practical; try it out, play with it, examine it and see if you don't end up treasuring it.

Make happiness your purpose.

Please comment and give your viewpoint.

Technorati tags: happiness, thinking skills, purpose, self-learning

Is it the Journey or the Destination that's Important

In hypnosis to explain what it is like we often use the example of a time when you drove to work or went somewhere and when you arrived you couldn't really recall the details of how you got there; you just arrived. What happened is that your mind was so busy thinking about an upcoming event, a bad situation, or anticipating something so intently that your subconscious mind (habits)took over the task of getting you there. Your subconscious mind if necessary would have interrupted your thinking if a situation had needed your attention.

Similarly some of us can get so focused on our future (vision, destination) that we leave the running of our life to our habits. The reverse of this is creating busy work. Taking on so many tasks that we cannot pay attention to where we are going. In either case we can suddenly wake up (a situation) not knowing how we got there but faced with a result that we didn't want. We all need destinations to provide directions in our life but we can't afford to do it on autopilot.

So what can we do?

We need to pay attention to both. It is like taking a scenic train ride such as the Alaska Rail & Cruise Tours. Our journey will have many sights that add to the richness of our life creating those fond moments we remember long after we have arrived at our destination. We may even stop and take side trips. Our destination can and will be enhanced by the journey. But we have to be present and paying attention and not lost in our habits.

Technorati tags: thinking skills, perspective, planning, vision, life skills

Living an Engaged Life

When we think of courage we usually picture a firefighter entering a burning building, a soldier going to war, or some other action where people put their life at risk for others and I agree that this is COURAGE with a capital C.

There is however, another type of courage with a small c and we usually don't notice it; but, it occurs every day and is just as dramatic in its' own way. Did you know that most of us fear public speaking more than death itself. Similarly; we can have an overwhelming fear of any activity that would make us appear to someone else as silly, stupid, inadequate, or a loser, and so never try. And that is sad because it can prevent us from reaching for our dreams; to be passionately engaged with life and all that it holds.

To face our fears and despite them embark on a course of action when we do not know what the result will be is like crossing a fast flowing deep stream where the stepping stones are not visible but we know they are there just under the surface. Sometimes we will miss a step, get wet, but determined to cross, we go back to the last step and try again until we reach the other side. We need to be able to put ourselves at risk not necessarily in a physical way but certainly in a mental way to realize our dreams. If we don't; we will face a lifetime of gray mediocrity and carry our regrets to our grave.

Here's to the small c in all of us. Seize the opportunity and live an engaged life.

Technorati tags: Courge, Engaged Life, Perspective, self-learning