How To Save The World – Part IV

I’m regularly grateful to have experienced being a part of this beautiful blue and white planet which slowly twirls amongst a trillion stars. It is an amazing thought if you really take the time to think about it. Picture one of those photos of our planet taken from space and remember that you are actually walking upon that beautiful orb.

Doesn’t everything else seem trivial compared to that thought? We live our lives with hundreds of useless thoughts cursing through our heads everyday and tend to easily forget how truly amazing life on this planet is. Sometimes our thoughts can turn into conditioning or beliefs that lead us to acts of selflessness, cruelty or even war. By now we are all aware that we are slowly ruining our home - this planet. As an animal we have forgotten how to share this planet with not only ourselves but with all other living creatures.

I have written extensively about awareness, consciousness and living in the moment. I’ve written about meditation, conditioning and beliefs. Many times I’ve thought that people don’t give a shit about using “consciousness” to make this planet a better home. People are more concerned about what celebrity had no underwear, how to lose 20 pounds in a week, how to make a million dollars over night, or are just trying to survive. And yes I’ve been guilty of those thoughts as well.

Fortunately, over the centuries humans have overcome some astonishing challenges. The formation of civilizations, revolutionary and religious wars, plagues, great depressions …the list goes on. But now we are faced with the threat of dwindling resources, constant MacDonald’s commercials, and an ever expanding population.

Is it an iPad that will save the world? Or is it a deeper consciousness? Do we resist buying bottled water (the plastic is made from oil, the transportation of the bottles creates pollution, and they stay in landfills forever if not recycled. Birds ingest floating caps out in sea thinking it’s food and even feed it to their young with both dying a painful slow death).

I am certain that the next big evolution for mankind is consciousness and awareness. We are done with the industrial age and the informational age is only choking us. There is no time like now to think before we buy, feel empathy for all living creatures, rejoice in our planet, reduce our carbon footprint and connect with fellow human beings all around the world (hey, maybe the iPad will help after all).

Over the centuries humans have overcome some astonishing challenges. The fight to save this planet has only just begun. I haven’t placed much hope lately in our governments to make any difference. It’s been only one big slobbering orgy at the mutual feeding troughs of government, corporations and banking for years now. Each and every one of us needs to try to clean this mess up.

I hope it isn’t too late.

Are we living just to survive or are we ready to fight? Are we leaving our children a beautiful planet or an orb dying a slow and agonizing death? Are we living in nature or looking at it through the screen of an iPad?

Consciousness and awareness. The next big evolution

Finding Peace And Harmony With Meditation

Plenty of people ask me how to meditate.

I think a better question would be why I meditate.

Meditation is about letting go of the normal world and associated thoughts that constantly invade the senses and mind. Meditation is about just being instead of doing. Meditation is about becoming friends with yourself and realizing that separation from the ego brings freedom and happiness.

We bombard ourselves with thoughts beginning with I. I need to pay the bills. I need to lose weight. I need to buy a new something. I should be eating better.  Probably 80% of these thoughts are constantly and annoyingly repeating themselves from one day to the next.  It seems to be a constant struggle. Meditation trains you to quiet the mind and look at life from new perspective. By calming the mind, you begin to distance yourself from all that mindless chatter and begin to think with more clarity. Meditation reduces snap decisions and trains you to look at yourself and your thoughts with a friendly curiosity. Instead of being overwhelmed with sudden angry thoughts, you become more inquisitive about your thoughts. Most importantly meditation slows down and relaxes the mind. Don’t we all want that? Don’t we want to exercise the body and the mind?

By practicing meditation, you will find that it affects your whole day. Decisions are made with more clarity. Peacefulness resides in the background of you at all times. You realize that struggling with thoughts all the time was a waste of time.  Life will throw you curve balls all the time. It isn’t easy sometimes. But the more you are able to quiet your thoughts and stop labeling and twisting them, the easier it becomes.

So step out of all those thoughts of desire, dislike, fear, and ego. Don’t let them control you. You can learn to control them.  Soon you will see yourself changing and become friends with yourself and your thoughts. You will chase your thought less often, become less judgmental and see the world with more clarity.

And finally, if you use the meditation technique of following your breath throughout the day, you will be living in the present moment more often. This is the ultimate goal of course, because the more you live in the moment, the more you give your life your fullest attention. Don’t you want to be aware of life and all it has to offer? I certainly hope so.

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Back In The Saddle

Just got back from vacation in Ogunquit, Maine. Had a great time. Lots of beach time, wonderful meals and a couple bottles of wine.

I’ll be back writing some blog posts this week. All the posts here are written by me. I’m really into living in the present moment these days. I’ve focused on awareness of “now” and trying to let go of thinking about the past or present. I find living in the moment probably the best thing I’ve discovered in a long time. I find myself almost in a state of quiet meditation more often which is a much more accepting and peaceful way to live.

I also would like to touch on my own life changes, specifically around getting in shape and becoming financially independent. I might even let you see how I’m doing in my own life changes and post my tracker statistics for you to follow. That would be fun. I think.

I hope you subscribe to my RSS feed, and follow me. The more people I’m accountable to the better.

I think.

A Simple Strategy To Start Meditating Right Now

Here is a simple strategy to begin meditating tomorrow morning. Meditation isn’t some mystical journey whereas you are required to become a Zen or Buddhist master. Meditation is simply staying in one place quietly, eventually learning to be in the present moment until it becomes natural.

Living in the present moment is the beginning to ending the mindless clatter and worries that are constantly bombarding you. Meditation teaches you to ignore self destructive thoughts and become at peace with ones selves, warts and all.

My meditation techniques are based on the practices of Pema Chodron .

Find a quiet room away from your bedroom. Sit upright, hands on lap, legs crossed and focus on a spot 4 to 5 feet in front of you.  Concentrate on your outer breath as a way of focusing the mind. When a thought arises, label it as “thinking” and go back to concentrating on your outer breath.  Let your thoughts go over and over again by labeling them as thinking. Continue to relax and allow whatever thoughts to arise without labeling them good or bad. Return to your outer breath.

Try to perform this exercise 15 minutes a day to start. After a while you will notice that you can return to the present moment much easier. This is one of the best ways to reduce the stress caused by over thinking and worrying.

You are the master of your life.

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How I Am Getting Happier While Becoming Wealthy

Do you really want to be Happy and Wealthy?

Do you really want to take the first the first steps towards making big life changes? Do you think about a life of riches and joy but find that years pass by and nothing changes? Most people I know that are in debt, overweight, lonely or hate their jobs, don’t take any steps to make life changes. What they are talented at is bitching, complaining, avoiding and blaming everything and everyone else for their frustrating lives. They allow their egos to rule their lives and won’t even make small financial changes like investing in the company retirement plan. Instead they find themselves night after night staring at the TV. I can’t help these people. They are living in a self imposed world and are pretty much unconscious zombies plodding along day after day. The truth is that life is right outside our door. Is it a nice day outside? Why not go out and take a walk with your brain and begin to think and plan a life of meaning purpose and joy. Or just keep complaining. It’s always your choice. Maybe you like being a zombie?

Do I want to be wealthy?

Of course I want to be wealthy? Why would I not want to be? Would I live in a small shack in the woods, if I can have a modern home overlooking the beach? Of course not. I also like my iphone. I like technology. If it weren’t for technology I wouldn’t be writing this and posting it in a few minutes for you to read. But when I step out onto the deck of my new beach house I don’t want to stress about bills, cutting the lawn or any of that crap. Or else what is the point? My point here is that no matter how wealthy you are (even if you are a billionaire), if you don’t have peace of mind than you truly aren’t enjoying life to its fullest. So living a life that allows ourselves to be fully present to life’s natural wonders, from the tiniest flowers, a spectacular water fall, or even dinner with friends is what truly counts. Believe me. And every time you step away from the present moment you step away from life. So being wealthy is fabulous but learning to be fully present with the world is much, much more important. It is the most important habit to learn during your time here on earth.

How do I get to be happy and wealthy?

Here is what you have to think about. Happiness comes from living in the moment. How can you be happy not living in the moment? How can you be truly happy thinking about the future or reliving the past? As you think about the future or past, your real life, or you may call it your present life, is passing you by. You just lost a few moments of your life. Life truly starts right now. Sink into the now and you will experience an enlightenment you never thought possible. Just go take a walk and pay attention to the ground under your feet. Feel the sun. Inhale nature’s scents. Don’t think, just be. This way of thinking will open many new doors to you including a world of wealth if you decide that is your goal. You become more focuses, calm, creative and content, clearing your mind for bigger and better things. I can’t explain it better than that. Now it is your choice. Continue down the same path or feel everything life has to offer you each and every moment. Which path did you choose?

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How To Break A Bad Habit

What I have found works best for me is taken from the saying – out of sight, out of mind. I also find it important to remember that a good habit (or ridding an old habit) usually takes about thirty days to take hold. So don’t fret so much about using sheer willpower, concentrate on the thirty day time period and take pride in your accomplishments as each day passes.

It is also important not to try and break too many bad habits at the same time. Pick a couple of habits, set some goals, write them down and track them.

Breaking bad eating habits

The simplest way to avoid eating unhealthy foods is to not keep unhealthy foods in the house. Next time you go grocery shopping don’t buy those cookies, cakes or whatever food which adds unhealthy calories to you. I usually zip down the cookie isle, ignoring them as they call my name.

Breaking bad money habits.

There are plenty of people who have no willpower if money is readily available. These days it’s far too easy to extract money from an ATM machine. So what do you do? Hide it. What I mean is lock it away in a 401K plan or RRSP. That way it is much harder to get at it and you will pay penalties for early withdrawal. Once again like the unhealthy foods - out of sight out of mind. Just make your money extremely difficult to access. You will also find that you end up paying yourself first instead of everyone else.

Breaking the worry habit

Worrying about something usually take us away from the present moment. And the present moment is always the most important moment in our lives. Once we lose the present moment we stop experiencing life at its best. Living in the now means enjoying life to its fullest, letting go of the past, letting go of past conditioning and being our most authentic self. So bring yourself to experience the immediacy of each moment in life and let go of your worries. Come back to the now of yourself as much as possible. You will discover a whole new world around you.

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Happiness and Awareness

We are not always aware of the world around us because our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours usually highjack our awareness. Once we overly identify with our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours we usually lose our awareness of ourselves and the world around us. Being aware means stepping out of this destructive cycle and realizing our true or greater nature. Our true nature is bigger than this. Stepping out of an emotional cycle creates a vast space in our mind, where we can experience our true selves and not the self created from our emotions. For example, “I am angry” turns into “I am experiencing anger.” Once we recognize this we can usually step away from any emotion and it eventually recedes instead of strengthening. Being aware (or living in the now) is a pure form of consciousness that can be particularly joyful and free ,which then eliminates our temptation to use past conditioning , blaming, or other negative behaviours that will most likely be destructive.

So happiness doesn’t always begin with a simple switch of attitude. Happiness begins with the realization that we can step away from the turbulence of the mind and just soak in the now with every fiber of our body. Staying in the now elevates us to experience this world as we were truly meant to as human beings. Staying in the now or being aware makes something as simple as a walk in the park a truly joyful experience. We feel the grass under foot, the sunshine warming our skin and the scent of flowers as we are meant to experience. It is actually a very simple concept and free to experience every moment of our lives. So wake up and look around you. You are not your emotions, thoughts or conditioning. You are free. Free to embrace each and every moment as you choose to.

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