Many of us are probably so used to crisis in the world that it
has become a natural part of our mental scenery. We’ve grown
accustomed to living in a world where acts of bitter conflict,
unrest, and inhumanity are everyday things, and their constant
contradiction with our essential values almost seems normal.
But are we really aware of the effect that these daily messages
have on our minds and attitudes, on our inner life? How do we
deal with our real feelings about the war, terrorism, the
elections, the environment, and other issues? It’s surprisingly
easy to carry silent resentment, fear, and deep anxiety about
these things without even realizing it.
Everyone knows it’s important for any individual to stay
balanced, but how can one do it when the pressure is on,
when one is assaulted by negative messages from all sides?
Get in Touch with yourself.
People are usually much more willing to analyze an external
issue and give opinions than to look inside themselves. Take a
moment to get in touch with your inner response to a much talked
about and urgent current event. Use some adjectives to describe
your personal way of relating to the events you are aware of,
and write them down on a piece of paper. Do you feel concerned,
combative, hopeful, disgusted, despondent or numb? Are the
feelings obvious or vague? Allowing your feelings to become
clear to you gives you more power to influence them.
Decide what gets inside your head.
Every day, Americans are bombarded by information from
advertisements and the media. Maybe in years past, news about
world events used to come at a slower pace, often by word of
mouth, but nowadays it’s easy to overdose before finishing
breakfast, on information about events occurring on the other
side of the world.
Just as you make choices about the foods you eat, be judicious
about what you allow to enter your mind. What you hear and see
affect what you think, and what you think over time determines
the quality and substance of your life. How necessary is it to
read the entire newspaper every day, or to listen to and share
office or family gossip? What other possibilities can you think
of for your valuable time?
Train yourself to consistently stay on guard, and watchful of
the external messages constantly contending for your precious
attention. Make it a point to actively allow or deny them
entrance, according to your best judgment.
Invest in your personal Vitality (Wind your Clock)
Much like a car depends on gas, everything you do in life is
made possible by your level of vitality or energy, especially the
decision to remain inwardly balanced and happy. Surprisingly,
your energy comes from many more sources than just the food you
eat.
For example, in Hypsoconsciousness by John Baines, a book of
consciousness-developing exercises, the author describes a
consciousness building exercise where the individual moves
very slowly and carefully, in a relaxed manner, mentally
concentrating on the movement. Any physical movement (such as
writing or walking) works and is performed at an exaggeratingly
slow pace for five to ten minutes, and sometimes more. After
practicing this exercise, you should feel an increase in
vitality, presence, and greater mental clarity. Try this
exercise when you feel fatigued, and see how it makes you
feel.
Take life as a Challenge
When life is taken as a healthy challenge, difficulties seem
more like an engaging game; it becomes more intense, joyful,
and real. To spend most of our lifetime fearfully avoiding
problems ultimately doesn’t work, because fear contaminates
our every act, and in the end, we have to deal with even more
problems. Things take a different color when we accept
difficulties as normal, patiently work through them, and don’t
assign so much negative emotional weight to them. This takes
development of the will.
Try this suggestion: Set one small goal for yourself this week.
For example, if you hate washing dishes, set yourself the
challenge of washing the dishes with a light, cheery attitude
for the entire week. If you tend to be shy around people, go
to a party with the specific aim of chatting comfortably with
a few strangers. Whether you succeed or not, if you take the
right attitude with this exercise, you will see yourself and
your possibilities differently. Remember to take small steps
- making the challenge too difficult or too easy defeats the
purpose.
Seeing the Big Picture
Have you ever been positively influenced by a person who had
some quality you admired? Sometimes just one well balanced and
positive person can affect a great number of people just by the
way he or she “is”. It’s been said: “If you want to change the
world, start with yourself.” Though it’s tough to accept at
first, each of us who is concerned about the world can make a
contribution with our own development, with our own growth. The
most potent tool each person has for attaining genuine happiness
is his or her potential for self development, and the greater
the number of people who work on themselves, the greater the
effect on the world.
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