Impermanence is a very Buddhist idea. What it means is that when something is impermanent it means, ofcourse, that it won’t last forever. In Buddhism they teach that all of conditioned existence, without exception, is in a constant state of flux. I can definitely agree that this is true in the physical world.
Everything is constantly moving, even when we cannot see the movement, we know that the atoms are vibrating and that the electrons are constantly circulating the neucleus, time is constantly moving forward never staying still. Buddhism teaches that we have to accept the idea of impermanence to reach enlightenment.
This idea is really applicable to life!
I’m in Cheong Pyeong Heaven and Earth Training center for 58 days or so. One aspect which was a little hard to deal with, which still honestly is, is the issue of friends. The friends you make here are really kinda impermanent in a sense that the relationship will probably fade away as we go home and go our seperate ways. The feeling of friendship and memories we shared will always be there so if we meet again we will still be friends, but the reality is we’ll never be able to relive the closeness and the experiences that we shared here in Cheong Pyeong. We can try to stay in touch but in the long run even if it’s the really long run as in one of us dying the friendship that we share in the physical world is impermanant. Even our family members will eventually die, we will die, our spouse will die. Physically speaking we are impermanent.
When I thought about this I was trying to make something of it. Then I realized there is no reason why we need to be afraid of our friends leaving us and going on with their life. We had our experience and it was great but why try to hold on to something that we know we’ll eventually have to let go of. Sometimes trying to hold on to things can cause us great suffering and frustration. That’s not to say these experiences shouldn’t be cherrished but it is good to accept that they will end to avoid unnecessary sadness.
In the end I realized it’s not the relationship itself that brought me happiness with the friends that I’ve met here, that have left, it was the process of give and take action! (See how I mixed two religious thoughts in one post XD) Through building the relationship, getting to know each other, sharing our hearts, our minds, our fears, our joys that is what really brought me happiness. It’s not the attatchment but the journey. Even if I never see these people again I will always have that happiness I felt inside of me. That is everlasting. I also I realized that so what if I don’t have so many long term friends in my life, so what that I don’t have so many friends in my area. It’s alright because it’s not the “friendship” itself that bring happiness into our lives it’s the process of give and take(or better give and recieve). And that we can do with anyone around us. What so special about Cheong Pyeong is that it’s so easy to find someone to have give and take all you have to do is look next to you and realize that at that moment that person is the most important person to you and you can love them and have give and take with them if you’d like. Ideally we can do this where every we go I’d like to get to that point sometime in my life but for now I am happy to know that there is a place in Korea where I can experience this and it can bring boundless amounts of joy into my life.
Spirit world however transcends impermanence. Spirit world is beyond time and space and is eternal. Thus we can have everlasting relationships. Even so it will be the give and take and the love that will bring us joy in life.
So let’s go and try and have as much give and take with the world. Let’s make a better world and inject love into eachother’s lives.
God bless thanks for reading!
:)
What is Religion? There are many definitions to this question. The way I like to think about it is, religion is a set of beliefs and a community which shares a common theology and provides a medium of spiritual growth. Just because you are in one certain religion doesn’t mean you believe the same exact thing as the guy sitting next to you at church. I’d even say that there is almost always some kind of difference in belief and understanding of the world between two people.
I think we’re all on a journey to understand this world. We’re all trying to grow spiritually and understand our purpose in life, what makes us special, and who created us. The more religions we study the closer we get to these answers. Every religion can be a medium to spiritual growth and each has something to offer.
Recently I’ve been studying up on Buddhism and the teachings of the Dalai Lama. He talks about compassion a lot and how we all have a common base between us in that we all seek happiness and all avoid suffering. Thinking about this point really helped me understand others and how we need to treat others so that they can be happy because just as we want happiness so do they and we all know this feeling. I’ve really felt a spiritual growth from his teachings. This doesn’t mean I’m a Buddhist or that the faith in my own religion is wavering. All it was is trying out another method of getting closer to the answers I seek and gain a better understanding of the world. It’s really teaching me how all religions have lessons to offer.
Trying to understand the Buddhist thought really opened my eyes to the beauty of this religion without taking away from my own. I want to learn the teachings of other religions so that I can see what they have to offer as well. Through this hoping to find a deeper understanding of the human family and God.
Sometimes we hear on TV about these amazing foods and medicines that are supposed to cure this and cure that and if you eat this and take that all your problems will go away. Science and religion always seem to be heading for similar goals in different ways. Especially when we are talking about emotional sickness. Though it is true that eating right and exercising can do wonders for our mood and feeling good. However, if I’ve experienced anything that I could call a cure for the blues there ain’t nothin like some good old fashioned unconditional love.
I’m not talking about receiving it from your friends and family that’s great and it helps but it’s giving this kind of love that really soothes the soul. It seems odd that when you feel down you feel like I don’t have anything to give how can I love someone else I need all the love I can get right now. It is hard, I won’t deny it but when did medicine taste good? You don’t want to put that stuff in your mouth but when you do it makes you feel better doesn’t it?
If love is the cure then anger, hatred and resentment is the virus. Holding on to these things will slowly but surely kill you. Not only will it kill you but like a virus it can spread. Getting rid of these emotions and coming to terms with your circumstances is a must to pull through the hard times in life.
Probably one of the best examples I can share of this cure happened when I was working. I was working a morning shift as a waiter and as the clock was getting closer and closer to 4:30 I was getting more excited about going home. When the time came the next shift was coming in I was getting ready to leave when one of my co workers starts feeling sick and says he can’t work the dinner shift. I thought to myself aww poor guy sigh I’m tired can’t wait to leave hope they’re okay. My manager had another idea though. He went to me and with this look of intense anger he said to me “Justin you’re staying all day.” Never seeing him like this I was kinda confused is he joking? What’s going on? I told him “Uhh I can stay till like 7”. I saw the anger grow “No you’re working all day” Now I’m really not an assertive person and when people get in my face like that I pretty much just want to run away so I walked away. That was a mistake he yelled “HEY I’M TALKING TO YOU DON’T WALK AWAY FROM ME!” he told me “stay or you’re fired” I thought to myself WHAT!?!? FIRED!?!?? CAN HE DO THAT!??! THIS IS TOTALLY UNFAIR!!! But I guess he could if he wanted to so what choice did I have I said alright and tried not to cry in front of everyone. I went on brake before starting the next shift and everyone was just saying oh he’s such a jerk this is so unfair how can he do that?
I needed to be alone so I went outside just to take some air in think meditate and pray a bit. I asked God what should I do? Idk how but it just came to me that the only way this can turn into a win win situation is if I totally forgive him and try to love him as my elder brother. So I went back to work he was in the kitchen with his face still glued in anger I said “Can we talk for a second” He just stared at me with these fiery piercing eyes “Yes?” Basically I told him I was sorry for disrespecting him and walking away and that I was really grateful to be working at that restaurant and for him hiring me and that I didn’t want anything bad between us. It was like black and white seeing his face change to a smile A SMILE! That was a rare sight. He said to me “Wow that makes me feel so much better thanks” I said “no problem” and he really made sure I could leave as early as they could let me and I was happy the rest of the day! I’d say happier than before he yelled at me! Since then things have been better between us.
So that’s my testimony about just loving someone to cure you’re sadness or anger, resentment what ever. Especial works when you really dislike the guy/girl. It really works and the thing is love is not fair. It’s not about justice or getting even it really doesn’t make sense sometimes but it’s right and you need to try it to believe it, really. Looking back at that I want to try and solve all of my hard times in life through giving love.
So you if you feel like you’ve been betrayed by someone or wronged by them I know it may seem hard and really make no sense but the only win win is through love. There is no other way.
So for all you who thought this would have something to do with the band The Cure sorry to disappoint but to everyone else hope you enjoyed!
When ever you’re in a low point in your life I think it’s really important at that point to count your blessings. Think about the positive things in your life that God has blessed you with. I can say I’m in a pretty low point in my life and even if I’ve never felt more depressed and sad I can’t deny the blessings that I have in my life.
My life seems to be crashing down BUT I can not deny the blessings that came to life during this crisis. I am really grateful for my diverse family and trust me my family is definitely diverse. It was really cool to see how each of my family members handled my crisis and them supporting me differently.
There is my mom who of course has that motherly heart and just want’s to comfort my soul and make the tears go away. Just letting me talk out my thoughts holding me. Giving some advice but for the most part just comforting me until I calmed down.
Next came my oldest brother, who really seemed to try and understand the pain I was going through. He was constantly telling me that I can’t let it destroy me and it’s not my fault. Really just sympathizing with me and showing compassion which was really helpful and I really felt supported.
The second brother took a totally different approach but none the less needed. Just having a good laugh as expected with his personality. Him having gone through something in the ballpark of what I just experienced sharing our thoughts but in a somewhat humorous way. I was able to laugh and joke around helping me subside the depression.
My little sister although it is only through texting once again taking a different approach. Getting angry for me and kinda freaking out which a part of me wanted to do but I’m glad she did it for me. Also just continuing to check up on me it’s nice to have that consistent care.
My dad has been away so wasn’t really able to hear about it until later but he took action and tried to help get a better understanding of what happened and talked to me giving me uplifting words.
I have to thank all of my friends who I’ve talked to about this issue making me feel better about it. Letting me joke about it, talk through it, the advice they gave me stories they’ve shared. It just really helps in healing.
I’ve received so much support and I didn’t even know that it was there. So no I’m not happy this happened but I’m glad that my eyes were opened a bit to the blessings and support that I have. I can’t forget about God who is always with me every step of the way in my journey of life.
That’s all I just wanted to express my gratitude to everyone and count my blessings to feel a bit more uplifted and remember the sunnier side of life.
“Gratitude is an opener of locked-up blessings.”
This in not an advertisement for the iphone just to get that out. I’ve been thinking about how I can become a better person and improve who I am. One thing that I realized is necessary for any kind of self improvement or reinvention is to re-think what is possible. That basically means to look at what you thought was impossible and realize that it is possible.
This is especially true when looking at one’s relationships. What can this relationship be. Many times we get used to people and then we define that relationship as what it is. Especially if you’ve known this person for a long time such as parents siblings or long time friends. We get into this comfort zone of what we talk about with this person, how we interact and we draw these lines and laws of what to do or say and what not to do or say.
Sometimes it’s necessary to rethink what this relationship can possibly be. Maybe it can be something so much more than what it is. Instead of just a surface friendship where you just joke around maybe you can find what a person really is an appreciate them more.
I got to a point where I felt like one of my relationships(which I’ll leave anonymous) was in trouble. A lot of fights and disagreements it just seemed like we were going down a bad path. We had to rethink the way we interacted with each other to really heal our relationship.
Haven’t written in a while but that’s basically whats been going on in my mind. Sometimes we have to rethink what is possible in out lives to move forward and continue to grow.
Hey everyone! It’s been a while since my last post. A longgg while so hope I’m not to rusty.
Here’s a few things that I’ve been thinking about lately.
It’s interesting how a change of environment can change your thinking. Sometime give you strength to be a better person a different person, to think more deeply, to step back and take a closer at life. I’ve only been gone for a few days now but already I can feel a difference in my self. For one thing I got an urge to write again. Also the thoughts of how can I improve myself, improve my relationship with my match and God, my family etc. As my trip continues it’s really cool to meet my new sister in law Kazuko and her two kids Mina and Yuna. She’s really cool and a good mom. I don’t know how she manages with those two crazy girls. They’re really cute though. Soon I’ll meet up with my brother who’s been at Cheompyeong I’m hoping for some kind of great awakening of wisdom from him but I’ll try to not get my hopes up for too much. Hopefully the trip will show him the importance of family and maybe we can talk some and share some thoughts.
I’ve been learning that you shouldn’t judge people. I know it’s easier said then done but hopefully I can work on that. Everyone has their own situation going on. You never really know until you try and step into their shoes and see their world. I can remember being judged when I was going through tough times and it never really helps. What does help is understanding and actually trying to help. Maybe I’ll try and take my own advice when dealing with people that I know are going through difficulties.
Last but not least a word on being matched. Most people wanting to get matched probably will try to deny this but the truth is success in a relationship is 90% who you are and 10% who your partner is. Your partner can be this amazing person who any one should be happy to be with but if you have a bad attitude about life it doesn’t matter. The truth is everyone has their flaws, not even really flaws just things you don’t fully understand. It can be a clash in culture, it can be lack of understanding because of background how they were raised what they’re used to. As time goes on you need to be willing to accept these differences and focus internally on you’re own short comings and try to improve yourself. It’s true that you can’t change anyone but yourself so don’t try it’ll only be frustrating.
That’s all gotta get back to my vacation today is Seoul Tower and the Palace.
Thanks for reading!
“Always desire to learn something useful.”
I’m reading abook about commitment and have been talking about faith a lot the past few weeks. Something that just hit me recently however is just how intertwined the two actually are. Faith is a confident belief or trust in a person, idea or pretty much anything. You may have any degree of certainty that it’s true and any amount of evidence to back it up but the reality is there is no absolute certainty. Life is filled with decisions based on faith. Many scientific ideas are put into faith. We can’t have certainty that evolution takes place or theories on atomic fusion. We put our faith in the abilities and intellect of those who discovered these things. We take a chance that we could be wrong but it’s worth the risk to believe in this person’s idea. Commitment is to show loyalty or duty to someone, something or some idea. In a commitment there are two factors which make up a commitment. One is dedication and the other is constraint. Dedication is the more positive side of commitment and what we generally look to experience when we enter a commitment. Dedication is what we offer in a commitment because we choose to. When you’re dedicated to someone or something you feel empowered and you offer because you want to. The other side is constraint. Sometimes in a commitment we feel like we have to do something because we made the commitment and that commitment is kind of forcing our hand. An example personally for me was when I wrestled in high school I totally felt constrained. I made a commitment to be a part of the team and even though practices were grueling and I at many times hated it I pushed forward because I was committed. What happened to me was because I was committed due more to constraint then dedication I ended up breaking my commitment. The reality is there should be a balance. We should be dedicated to our commitments and through putting in dedication the commitment becomes more meaningful to us; however, we do also need the constraint for when the times get tough and we just don’t feel so dedicated. In order to start any commitment you need a strong sense of faith and to have any faith you need a strong sense of commitment. The two are very much connected. Both are taking a leap and saying this is the correct path for me, this is my path to happiness and growth. Both are shutting out the alternatives and are to “forsake all others”. If we don’t have faith in what we are about to commit to, that it is going to work out for us, we probably won’t get into too many commitments. Most without faith will just sit on the fence with most things waiting for an answer, waiting for more proof to come there way. Taking time to think before making a commitment is necessary and in some commitments a lot of time is needed to weigh the situation but at some point making a commitment is always, in a way, a leap of faith that it will work out. There is no life greater then that of faith and commitment. Looking back on my life i’m glad I kept the commitments I did and I took those leaps of faith. Not to say all of my commitments were good, some were gone into for the wrong reasons but they did break eventually. The wise commitments I took, whether they were years: continuing to practice judo, continuing my studies in computers or short one: committing to finish the books I started and committing to talk to someone about something important, are the things that carried me through life and gave me a sense of balance and growth. This definitely goes for relationships of all sorts. In high school I had a best friend named Jenson. We went through everything together. Up into this point that was the most committed relationship I had in my life (outside of family). We were like a married couple we’d constantly fight and make up. Sometimes we’d be mad at each other for a few days but we were committed and someone would take the effort to heal the damage. That relationship was probably one of the most happiest relationships of my life though. We could say virtually anything to each other even if it’d get the other annoyed or mad because they didn’t agree, but we said it comfortably and without fear. I still haven’t had such a close friend as he till this day as far as being comfortable with someone. Eventually he became a bad influence and the relationship became toxic. The thing is I’d still be really happy if we could put away our differences and be friends again, I still remember the good times. Commitment and faith may seem to restrict freedom at times but when you close the door behind you so many more are opened up. You get the chance to be free from doubt free from worry. Without faith and commitment our lives just couldn’t be as fruitful. “Commitment unlocks the doors of imagination, allows vision, and gives us the “right stuff” to turn our dreams into reality” - James Womack Thanks for reading!
I watched this movie called The Peaceful Warrior. It was really an inspirational film. Probably the most memorable quotes of the film was when Dan says ” The journey is what brings us happiness not the destination “. I don’t usually get epiphanies after watching a movie but this was an exception.
The reason why this quote hit me was because it was like just the advice I needed now. I had said to my self alright I’m done giving advice. Here’s something you may or may not know about me is that I love giving advice and having deep conversations and hoping to help other peoples emotional struggles. I guess if you’re reading this blog you know that I like to do this. I get a lot of joy out of listening to peoples problems and though I don’t always have the perfect advice and I don’t alway know the answers, I at least do my best. Recently I started to lose hope because one of the people that used to ask me for advice quite often seemed to making all the wrong decisions. When I heard of what this person was doing my first reaction was just “okay that’s it if my advice isn’t helping them if they aren’t improving what’s the point why help?”.
After watching this movie I started reflecting on my motives for even giving advice. Maybe I was too focused on result. On the the destination of where I wanted the situation to end up. I forgot about the moment. I completely disregarded the fact that when I’m able to be of some guidance to others, at that moment I’m happy. Those are the moments when my mind is clear of garbage and I can just let inspiration and good feeling take hold of me and serve to the best of my abilities. I tend to forget to think about the journey and how it is it’s own reward. Why would I stop doing what I love because of the imperfect product when in reality even if I reached this goal I wouldn’t be content because I could only hold onto it for so long.
If I can change my motivation and focus on the journey I believe that naturally the result will be better. If I can focus on the giving and what I can offer then I can seize the moment and truly experience the joy that it gives back. If I can focus on the advice and clear my mind of other distractions then possibly the result can be greater. Even if it doesn’t (because the truth is we have to accept that things are not in our control) it wouldn’t matter because I lived the journey and it was good.
Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero – “Seize the Day, putting as little trust as possible in the future”
-Horace
Thanks for reading!
More than believe I know, that the family is supposed to be the epicenter of love, joy and harmony. I know this because at times it i,s and when ever I feel this feeling in my heart, of love and joy, it feels “like family”. Like a strong connection with someone even though I may have just met them, and just suddenly had this really long deep conversation, I feel as if it doesn’t matter that we don’t know each other’s pasts, because at that moment, that present time, that person is my brother or sister or father or mother, we’re like a family. That person turned out exactly as they did and as long as I feel this “family connection” with them past doesn’t matter.
How I wish it could always be like this. The epicenter of love… In all honesty I can’t complain I love my family I’ve been so blessed to be born into the Okamoto blood, to have a great older sister join our family tree, to have the people in my life that I have.
Although I am trying to be grateful and I do believe that I am getting closer to embodying that grateful heart I can obviously see that our family is not “ideal”. I’m not talking about the false ideal that you see on tv of the feel good moments of the successful family where everyone goes through their struggles then they go to their family and the dad gives some great wise advise and problems are solved like in the Cosby show. To me the “Ideal” isn’t even something that TV can emulate because it’s never been done before. The “Ideal” is just a concept; a perfection in an imperfect world.
In my family we all have unique courses in our personal growth. It would be too simplistic to just say that, I lost my faith then went to Cheom Pyeong and amazing things happened and I found my faith and Dachul did STF and Takashi did NLTP and Meena did NHF and BTA and Michael will get to that big turning point later on. The truth is our courses in life are still continuing and to understand ours or anyones for that matter you’d really need to die and go to heaven; then borrow that magical TV from the angel working in the AV department and watch someone else’s life through their shoes(experiencing all the emotions that go along with it). Even then the only ones who can TRULY understand our individual courses are ourselves and God.
The family course is different though. It’s a shared experience. The family grows together there for the entire family can understand the growth to some extent. If one member doesn’t fulfill their responsibility then there is no growth. My sister in law told me some advice about getting blessed. She said something along the lines of “When you get blessed things are totally different. You don’t grow as an individual you start your course of growing as a couple and you feel like you’re starting over. If one of the two is higher then the other the higher has to go down and pull the lower one up and it may feel like you are going backwards because of this…” it was really good advice (thanks Sarah) and I hope I did it justice. Being blessed is the start of the family course. It’s probably a lot more intimate then the family coarse you were born into(don’t know from experience but I can imagine). She also said growth is a lot harder… and I believe her. Not only is it harder but I believe it’s a lot harder to realize to understand and to consciously do. Individual course kinda seems hard, to me, but at least when I look at myself now then look at myself ten or even just one year ago and I see how I’ve changed I can proudly say wow… yah did good kid yah did good. When I look at my family as a whole it’s really not that easy to comprehend. I see change and I see maturity but growth? and I mean growth, getting closer to that epicenter of love idea. It’s hard for me to see. Maybe this is what Sarah was talking about. Because when I look at my family and try to see how we’ve grown as a family I don’t see it so much. I see seven, and for the past year another one, individuals who have grown a lot but the “Ideal” is still just an idea and the epicenter of love just a concept.
I’m a man with many problems just like the rest of us. I’m no psychologist and I probably shouldn’t be making any theories about the root of all emotional problems, but it is my humble assertion that these problems all stem from a lack of love if you go far back enough. If the family is supposed to be the epicenter of love then it is the source for the lack of love. I don’t by any means mean that the individuals in my own family are at fault because I love them and I know they love me, just the family establishment isn’t there yet. It’s not there yet because it was never established from the beginning. Starting with the first human family. Also, growth was stagnant until our true father brought this concept, this goal at which to reach for. After all how could families grow to an ideal that was not yet even an idea, was not yet understood.
Please don’t take this wrong way and think “gee this guy is a downer”. I’m not saying all of this because I believe it’s unreachable or that my family will never get there or that it’s my family’s fault. I’m just saying it’s harder to grow as a family then it is to grow individually. I never said hard was the synonym of impossible though. It’s just something that we really need to try that much harder to achieve. In retrospect when we look at individual growth, that’s the comfort zone. That’s the place where, at least some of us, have confidence in. The reason is you just need to have faith in two people, yourself and God. When we want to grow as a family we need to develop our faith in a whole lot and an ever increasing amount of people. If you think your uncomfortable with your individual growth just think about the enormity of the task of family growth. Individual growth looks easy now doesn’t it?
It seems hard and we are inching our way up and every so often we get our walls and we get our gusts of wind. The truth is we’re just not giving it the one hundred percent effort it needs. It’s something that’s never been done before obviously it’s going to take more effort then any other feat. It is something that we will probably not achieve in our life time but we must have faith that the progress we make will be the foundation for our future generations; so that our children don’t have to grow up chasing after girls because they felt no emotional connection with his brothers and sisters; so that our children don’t have to turn to drugs because they just saying I love you isn’t enough anymore, so that our children don’t have to sit in bed at night and cry because no one could gather the courage to knock on his door and say “hey wanna talk?”.
Solemnly do we put a conscious effort in our family growth(Maybe when your blessed you get more conscious of it), but I’d like to start. Let’s try to put a conscious effort in not just growing as an individual but growing as a family. Lets throw away the concepts that we have of each other that are blocking us getting closer. Why should it be that some of the hardest people to be vulnerable around are those who we’ve lived with our whole lives? Why do we need to protect our egos and protect our hearts from the ones we love? Let’s embrace each other and see each other as the God given gift that we all are to each other. After all it’s true you can’t choose you family, so you have no choice, you better love them.
Some day I’ll have a family of my own. A new branch of the Okamoto family tree. I don’t want my kids to go through the same struggles I went through. I want them to have a better life, something a little closer to the ideal. The only way I can have any influence on that is if I can be part of the solution. Take that first step. Knock on the door. Say “hey you seem stressed; wanna talk about it?”. Just continue, faithfully, and praying that some day when I’m having a bad day and I’m sitting in bed I’ll hear a simple knock. That’d be a dream come true.
Thanks for Reading!
God Bless
-Justin
P.S.
I know this is different from most of my posts. This post was written on pure inspiration. After crying for a good amount of time (Don’t worry it wasn’t the depressed kinda crying it’s the good kind that you seldom get when you just feel so at one with God’s heart) I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep and I just had this urge to offer some of my thoughts to the few of you who read this. Being 2:20 time to sleep and edit this tomorrow. :)
For so long the concept of actually thinking about my thoughts seemed strange. I’d just go through life let my mind go on a journey. My thoughts wandered from subject to subject. My thoughts were primarily based on reactions to the world around me. If it was too cold I’d think why is it so freaking cold if I had some feelings for someone I’d think wow she’s amazing.
It wasn’t until I started reading that I realized the importance of examining one’s thoughts.
Eastern religions talk a lot about “awareness”. In the Ashtavakra Gita it says:
If you wish to be free, Know you are the Self, The witness of all these, The heart of awareness.
Set your body aside Sit in your own awareness.
You will at once be happy, Forever still, Forever free.
What this passage is saying is that for us to experience happiness and freedom we must be aware of our actions and our thoughts. Being aware of ourselves is key to our growth of character and spirituality. Taking a step back from the daily grind and just taking a look at what you are doing in your life, the decisions you’ve made, the relationships we have is crucial. If we are unable to do this we are not free. We are bound to our mistakes, bound to our circumstances, bound to our uncontrolled mind.
Just reflect about what we most commonly think about. More often then not we’ll see that a lot of these uncontrolled thoughts are about the problems. I hope the test isn’t going to be hard, does this person like me, am I going to be successful? More productive thinking would be to think about the solution, the end goal and how to accomplish it.
Negative thoughts have negative consequences. It’s as simple as that. When we think negatively we are wasting time and energy and we are leaving mental scars. The biggest problem occurs when we don’t control our thoughts these uncontrolled thoughts become uncontrollable habits(of course all habits can be broken over time).
There are a few methods that I use to control my thoughts. Meditation for one can do wonders. Just find some place of solitude sit and contemplate one’s thoughts and actions. Go from past to present and just think, not to get down on yourself for mistakes, but just to take an objective look at life and see where life is going and if that’s where you want to go. Another is just simply doing something where you don’t really need to think or where the thinking is focused. When I start feeling lonely and depressed the best thing for me to do is just force myself to think about something else. Sometimes simple brain power isn’t enough so I just grab a book and read. That way I forget the negative thoughts and just focus on the text.
Being aware is not something that is just learnt then not needed to be reminded of. It’s something that we need to remind ourselves to do because we are the only ones that can keep track of it. It takes effort and training. It may seem at first that it takes more energy then it’s worth but in the long run we’ll see that it’s being aware that allows us to be proactive in our lives and be free to choose our own paths.
If you think you are free,
You are free.
If you think you are bound,
You are bound.
For the saying is true:
You are what you think.
- Ashtavakra Gita 1:11
Thanks for reading!
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