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

To experience life in the “present moment” is not a mysterious thing and it is not a big deal. It simply involves putting less attention on worries and regrets.  Less attention on the future, the past, and things that bother you.

Living in the present moment means living life “now”, with your attention on the present, and not allowing your mind to take you to experiences away from “now”.  When you manage to do this, you can enjoy each moment to a fuller extent.  You can bring out the best in your performance and creativity. You become less distracted by your needs and concerns.

Present moment living, getting in touch with your life now, is at the heart of effective living.  When you think about it, there really is no other moment you can live.  Now is all there is, and the future is just another present moment to live when it arrives.  Dr. Wayne Dyer

The happiest people know that no matter what happened yesterday, last month, or last year - no matter what may happen tomorrow, next month, or next year, “now” is the only place where happiness can actually be experienced.

This may sound confusing, so let me explain.  I don’t mean that you’re not affected by your past, or not concerned with tomorrow, because we all certainly are.   There are things in our past that we remember fondly and this makes us happy thinking about them.  There are our dreams and expectations of happy moments yet to come.  What I mean is that we can’t be bothered or worried over something that has already happened, or something that has not yet happened.

Yesterday… Today… and Tomorrow

There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

One of these days is Yesterday with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.

All the money in the world cannot bring back Yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed; we cannot erase a single word said. Yesterday is gone.

The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise and poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control.

Tomorrow’s sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds - but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in Tomorrow, for it is yet unborn.

This leaves only one day - Today. Any man can fight the battles of just one day; it is only when you or I add the burdens of those two awful eternities - Yesterday - and Tomorrow - that we break down.

It is not the experience of Today that drives men mad - it is the remorse or bitterness for something which happened Yesterday and the dread of what Tomorrow may bring.

Let us, therefore, live but One Day at a Time.

Children seem to do this intuitively and seem to understand that life is a series of present moments. They seem to understand that each moment is important and should be experienced to the fullest. If only we as adults could intuitively do the same.

If you can take this to heart and begin to live more in the present moment, you will find you spend less time being bothered by “life”, and more time enjoying it. You will spend less energy convincing yourself that “now” isn’t good enough, and more time enjoying the wonderful moment you are in - the present moment.

Gina

Technorati Tags: Personal Development, Happiness, Self-improvement

With his song, “Live Like You were Dyin’”, Tim McGraw sends a message that we should really heed. Like Tim’s song, many of us will experience a much-dreaded serious accident or terminal diagnosis, and one thing is certain to occur:

We will view our ordinary life with much more appreciation. The things we take for granted will seem much more important and special. We will begin to look at each day as a gift and a miracle. All the little things that bother us won’t seem all that important or worthy of so much of our attention.
The little aggravations that we usually focus on will shrink in importance. Our attention will now be on the precious gift of life.

Live Like You Were Dyin’

I was in my early forties,
With a lot of life before me,
And a moment came that stopped me on a dime.
I spent most of the next days, lookin’ at the x-rays,
Talkin’ ’bout the options and talkin’ ’bout sweet time.
Asked him when it sank in, and this might really be the real end.
How’s it hit ya, when you get that kind of news.
Man what ya do.
And he says,

I went sky divin’,
I went rocky mountain climbin’,
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull name Fu Manchu.
And I loved deeper,
And I spoke sweeter,
And I gave forgiveness I’ve been denying,
And he said someday I hope you get the chance,
To live like you were dyin’.

He said I was finally the husband,
That most the time I wasn’t.
And I became a friend a friend would like to have.
And all the sudden goin’ fishing,
Wasn’t such an imposition.
And I went three times that year I lost my dad.
Well I finally read the good book,
And I took a good long hard look at what I’d do
If I could do it all again.
And then.

Like tomorrow was a gift and you’ve got eternity
To think about what you do with it,
What could you do with it, what can
I do with with it, what would I do with it.

I went sky divin’,
I went rocky mountain climbin’,
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull name Fu Manchu.
And I loved deeper,
And I spoke sweeter,
And I watched an eagle as it was flyin’.
And he said someday I hope you get the chance,
To live like you were dyin’.

We can be fairly certain this will be our reaction to the bad news. That is how it’s been for everyone before us. So, what’s the use of waiting for a life-changing event to appreciate our lives? Why wait until were forced to realize the miracles of our lives and experience gratitude? Why wait to treasure our lives?

Definition of Gratitude

Webster’s Dictionary defines Gratitude as the state of being appreciative of benefits received or pleasing by reasons of comfort supplied. Thankfulness.

We need to realize how short and fragile life really is and how quickly it can change. One minute you have a spouse and a child and the next you don’t. One day you’re enjoying a walk on the beach and the next you have an accident that takes your legs. One day you’re enjoying your beautiful home and the next day it is totally destroyed in a fire. So many things can and do happen every day. Chances are there is someone close to you that has experienced such a tragedy.

There are two ways to look at the frailty of life: One way is feel frightened over the inevitable and to worry about what might happen. The other is to use this uncertainty and fear as a constant reminder of all we have to be grateful for. We need to constantly remind ourselves how fortunate we are to have what we have: a home, a spouse, children, health, a job all else you possess and may take for granted.

Gratitude List

Gratitude is one of the most powerful attractors of what we want. Take a sheet of paper and write down all the things you are grateful for in every area of your life. Include such things as your job or career, your health, your family, your friends, your personal possessions, and everything else you can think of. There is always something to be grateful for in every area of your life. Post this list where you can see it every day. This will keep it in your mind help you to get in the habit of gratitude.

Take a few minutes every day to think about and express gratitude for those things that you have. Make this a part of your life right now and begin to experience more joy. Give it a try. Chances are you have more to be grateful for than you realize.

Live life, don’t just go through it. Experience gratitude.

Gina

Gratitude Quotes

A person of power embraces challenges in complete gratitude. No matter the situation life may bring, discontent is never justified, rather all is experienced as an opportunity and a privilege to adventure and grow. James Ray “

The more youpraise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. Oprah Winfrey

Technorati Tags: Gratitude, Personal Development, Self-help