Tuesday 27 October 2020

The brainy benefits of exercise

Trust in the love, mercy, and infinite wisdom and compassion of Divinity, which sees through all human error, limitation, and frailty. Avoid negative depictions of God--that is, jealous, angry, destructive, partial, favoring, vengeful, insecure, vulnerable, contractual, and so on--as an anthropomorphic error. Understand that condemnation and fear of judgment stem from the ego. Place faith and trust in the love of God, which is all-forgiving. Your problems are like the people who complicate your life and you will probably relate to them in the same way that you deal with difficult people. Do you take them on early and set the ground rules from the beginning or do you let them get into the habit of treating you badly? Give some thought to how you deal with difficult people and how they make you feel. There are two common reaction styles: They Hurt My Feelings: If difficult people get under your skin and make you feel badly about yourself, then your problems probably will too. In this case, picking some new problems to solve for yourself may feel to you as though you are signing up for low self-esteem. With this mind-set, you are understandably highly reluctant to take on any new problems. Just as critical people do, your problems make you doubt yourself and your projects. Subconsciously, thanks to the negative impact of your ego, you believe that your problems are a sign that you really are not cut out to be whatever it is you are trying to be. You have a secret and irrational conviction that if you were really doing the right thing, then these kinds of problems would not be showing up. What projects or ideas do you have that might benefit from someone else's involvement? What opportunities do others have to offer? Explore ways to build connections with like-minded people, and reach out to those people today. Whose work or mindset do you admire? Who have you always wanted to work with? What ideas do you have for collaborative projects?

Revamp your workspace Most people spend around a third of their day at work. Whether you have a physical or digital workplace, make your space as pleasant as possible. Your environment affects you on a physical, emotional, mental, and sometimes even spiritual level, so keep it clean, organized, and inspiring. Realize that, like the sun, the love of God shines equally on all. SIMPLE TOOLS OF GREAT VALUE FOR THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY You can pick a primary tool, plus a few others, but many are not needed. Simple tools, consistently applied, will result in the revelation of spiritual truths that do not have to be acquired intellectually, because they present themselves with great clarity. In addition, they present themselves only when suitable and serviceable, and because they are not an acquisition of the mind, they do not end up as spiritual vanity. Some tried-and-true basic tools that have brought about tremendous results over the centuries are as follows: Be kind to everything and everyone, including oneself, all the time, with no exception. Revere all life, in all its expressions, no matter what, even if one does not understand it. Presume no actual reliable knowledge of anything at all. Ask God to reveal the meaning. You secretly believe that problems are a sign of your inadequacy, just like you secretly concur when some mean, critical person devalues you. You handle difficult people and problems by backing down and acting as though you believed that you are not competent or equipped to go on. They Can't Do This to Me: Anger is another way of saying that both problems and difficult people scare you. Anger is a fear reaction, designed to pump up your adrenaline so you can fight or flee. It is also primarily emotional, involving little thinking. You become indignant or even furious when difficult people treat you badly, and react by spending all your energy fantasizing rebuttals or plots for revenge.

When you encounter problems, you feel persecuted. It is not just a few difficult people, but the world itself that is out to get you. You do not feel bad about yourself nor are you in a state of low self-esteem. Instead, you are angry about being treated this way and do not feel that you deserve all the strain and frustration that your new problems are bringing you. Start by making your space functional and manageable. Declutter and organize your office, desk, and devices. This will improve your productivity and wellbeing by minimizing stress and distractions. Next, spruce things up! Invite into your space what you want to see in your work. If you want creativity and inspiration, for instance, try adding a plant, new accessory, or piece of art to your space. Transforming where you work can bring a new, positive energy into how you work. What qualities do you want your work to reflect? What did you bring into your space to invite this kind of focus or energy? How did transforming your space help you connect to and enjoy the work you create within it? Intend to see the hidden beauty of all that exists--it then reveals itself. Forgive everything that is witnessed and experienced, no matter what. Remember Christ, Buddha, and Krishna said that all error is due to ignorance. Socrates said all people can choose only what they believe to be the good. Approach all life with humility, and be willing to surrender all positionalities and mental/emotional arguments or gain. Be willing to forgo all perceptions of gain, desire, or profit and thereby be of selfless service to life in all its expressions.

Make one's life a living prayer by intention, alignment, humility, and surrender. True spiritual reality is actually a way of being in the world. By verification, confirm the levels of consciousness and spiritual truth of all teachers, teachings, spiritual groups, and literature one intends to be aligned with or a student of. Accept that by spiritual declaration, commitment, and surrender, Knowingness arises that provides support, information, and all that is needed for the entire journey. With this way of looking at things, you are burning up a lot of emotional fuel just to stay offended by the difficult people and problems in your life. Now what do these two styles have in common? They both are about getting lost in your reactions. So lost that you forget what it was you were going after in the first place and why. This is what happens when your emotional reactions to a problem become the focus, rather than figuring out what to do about the problem. They are also about seeing the source of power as being outside yourself. Whether you get depressed or angry, the mechanism is the same: you are reacting to feelings of fear and helplessness. We often say that a person or problem is making us upset, which is a very accurate way of stating it. There are plenty of times when we can be made to feel all sorts of things, whether we want to or not. It is a fact that difficult people and problems can have a big impact on us, but only as long as we have a secret desire to avoid our problems. Prepare yourself Your thoughts and beliefs set the stage for your immediate actions and ongoing habits. Making a specific plan to move toward your goals and dreams provides the clarity and confidence you need to achieve your version of success. Focus today on preparing yourself for what you want as though it's entirely possible (or even inevitable! Think about the big-picture goals and dreams you identified earlier in this section and throughout this article (see days 26, 41, and 75). Write down the ones that continue to strike a chord with you and ask yourself what your life will look like when--not if , but when-- you attain your goal or manifest your dream.

Repeat this process with each goal or dream using the format: When I _____________ my life will look like _____________. Once you've completed this process for each goal, dream, and desire, map out your reflection questions . Since that life is already waiting for you, what are three ways you can prepare for it? What are your next steps? The most powerful tool that is in the province of the will is devotion. Thus, it is not just spiritual truth but the degree of your devotion to it that empowers it to become transformative. A great classic that demonstrates the efficacy of simplicity and devotion is Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God (1692), which calibrates at 575 and emphasizes the importance of constancy. It is the motive that establishes spiritual value. To dedicate your actions as a service of love to life is to sanctify them and transform them from self-seeking motives to unselfish gifts. Even the smallest task can be seen as serving the common good, and if viewed in that light, all endeavors become ennobled. Everyone has the opportunity to contribute to harmony and beauty by kindness to others and thereby support the human spirit. That which is freely given to life flows back to us because we are equally part of that life. Like ripples on the water, every gift returns to the giver. What we affirm in others, we actually affirm in ourselves. These negative situations have power over us and make us upset only as long as we hold onto the secret wish to not have to deal with any problems in our life. This desperate avoidance is what gives problems power over us. When you cherish the secret fantasy that maybe your life can be problem-free if you just avoid problems as much as possible, then it makes sense that you will get very upset when somebody or something reminds you that problems are still there. It is natural to want to avoid problems, but it is a bad habit to get into. Remember, problems that need to be solved are a constant. Either you choose to handle them or they will handle you.

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