Your Need To Know

Or, if you prefer, “Garbage In, Garbage Out!”

This Hermetic principle can be very valuable in helping you regain your perspective when your life seems out of control.  It simply means that your outer world is a reflection of your inner world.  In other words, the amount of chaos in your environment (your outer world) is a reflection of the amount of chaos you experience in your mind.

Most people have a strong resistance to this type of thinking because it can be quite humbling.  After all, who wants to admit that their hectic life is a result, even in part, of a frenzied mind?  It’s much easier to believe that your hectic life is a result of your circumstances, responsibilities, or face-paced schedules.

I am still determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions and not upon our circumstances. Martha Washington 

If you are able to accept this philosophical strategy, it can be extremely helpful, not only in the events of your day to day life, but to your overall well being.  While you have little control over your environment - your outside circumstances - you do have the capacity to change from the inside out. 

What Comes First?

What comes first, a peaceful mind or a peaceful life?  It may be difficult to admit, but the answer is obvious.  A more peaceful mind precedes a more peaceful outer life.  If your life seems overwhelming and you need more peace, the best place to begin your improvement is within your own mind. 

The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives. William James

All too often, we are overreacting to events in our lives that are largely beyond our control.  We blow too many issues out of proportion.  We make too many mountains out of molehills. 

Where to Begin?

Simply acknowledging that most of our problems lie within us - not in the circumstances around us - can be very helpful because it places the blame where it really belongs: inside each of us!

The next time you’re feeling overwhelmed or frustrated, slow down and take a look inside.  If you do, I think you’ll see how much your outer life is a reflection of your inner world.   Just by making this connection, you may very well know what steps are needed to solve the problem. 

 If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.  Dr. Wayne Dyer

Keep feeding your mind with new information, ideas and pictures of the person you want to be and the life you want to live. By creating this inner attitude of mind,  you change the outer aspects of your world.   Out with the old and in with the new.

Take the Garbage Out

It is definitely possible to train your mind to be less reactive to ordinary difficult events: everyday events that we may overreact to normally.  This is not to say that something won’t affect you, it will.  I am simply saying you can re-train your mind to react differently to the same set of facts.  You can work on the negative patterns that we have developed through habit;  the “Garbage” we have accumulated in our minds. 

When a normally difficult situation arises, you begin by telling yourself. “I will not overreact or be bothered by this situation.”   Granted, this may seem a little superficial in the beginning.  Telling yourself you aren’t going to be bothered may seem a little like telling yourself you feel good when you have the flu (although that can be a good idea too).  But if you give this exercise a chance, you’ll find this can be very effective.  Refuse to be bothered and take the habitual reactivity (the garbage) out of the picture.

Gina

Technorati Tags:Self-Improvement, Happiness

Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, talks about his meeting with Andrew Carnegie. He talks of Mr. Carnegie’s lecture and the profound affect it had on his life.  Mr Carnegie spoke of the power of the human mind and how your thoughts attract in to your life that which you think about.

Developing Patience

Patience is something we seem to have less and less of these days. In this fast-paced age of the internet where all manner of things can be acquired in an instant, we have become used to instant gratification. We have become used to getting results NOW. We have become less able to cope with life’s everyday stresses. We have become less patient.

Without patience, life can be extremely frustrating. The less patience you have, the more you are easily annoyed, bothered, and upset. The more patience you have, the more you can accept the way things are rather than how you would like them to be. Patience will reduce your stress levels and improve your health and longevity. Patience is a quality that’s essential for true inner peace.

Patience is also a quality that can be improved with practice. Developing your patience is not easy, and you have to be motivated to do it, but do it you should.

Patience serves as protection against wrongs as clothes do against cold. For if you put on more clothes as the cold increases, it will have no power to hurt you. So in like manner you must grow in patience when you meet with great wrongs, and they will then be powerless to vex your mind. - Leonardo da Vinci

On our quest toward self-improvement, increasing our level of patience should be high on our list.

Patience Practice Periods

An effective way to improve your patience is to create actual “patience practice periods.” These are periods of time you set up in your own mind to “practice” the art of patience.

You can start with as little as five minutes and build up your capacity for patience over time. Start by saying to yourself, “For the next five minutes I’ll be patient and I won’t allow anything to bother me.” What you’ll discover may amaze you. When you consciously and purposely intend to be patient, your capacity for patience immediately increases.

Your success with these “practice periods” – five minutes of successful patience – will feed on itself and you will discover that you DO have the capacity to be patient; even for longer periods of time. Notice the positive effects these “practice periods” are having on your life. See your anger and stress level decreasing and your overall happiness increasing.

Remember, for every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness

When you are stuck in a traffic jam, or are late for an appointment, and everything seems to be going wrong; when you catch every traffic light, and every one else seems to be moving in slow motion, say to yourself, “Now is a great time to be patient.” Take a patience practice period.

He that can have patience, can have what he will. - Benjamin Franklin

Improving your patience will help you to keep your perspective. Whatever it is that challenges your patience – a difficult person or situation – probably isn’t life or death. It is just a minor obstacle to deal with. Deal with it patiently, without anger or frustration, stress or high blood pressure. When you do, you will begin to enjoy many of life’s moments that used to frustrate you.

OK, so what does “Grasshopper” mean? Anyone who has known me for any length of time, knows how I like to use the terms, “Wise choice, Grasshopper” and “Patience, Grasshopper.” Let me explain:

Back in the ’70s, I loved to watch the tv series Kung Fu starring David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine. Caine’s mentor was a blind Shaolin monk, who I believe was named Po. He once told Caine to close his eyes and tell him what he saw. After doing so, Po asked Caine, “Did you not see the grasshopper sitting at your feet?” From then on, he called Caine “Grasshopper.” During his training to become a Shaolin Priest, Po would often tell his student that he made a wise decision or to be patient. Hence the title: Patience, Grasshopper

Gina
Technorati Tags: Developing Patience, Patience quotes, Self-improvement