Anxiety and responsibilities set me down on the ledge of my life.
I save myself with exercise, yoga, and reading.
meditation
Endless Energy
We have the capacity to feel energetic all the time. You don’t need chemicals or a special diet. We are naturally full of energy. The reason we lack energy is because we create blocks which stem from our ego.*
For example, let’s say you wake up in a great mood. You go to work, full of energy. You want to make this an outstanding day! You plan on getting a lot done. A client calls you, berates you and demands some of his money back. Now you feel indignant against this person. You take what he says personally and call him names (after you hang up the phone). How dare he demand things outside of the contract? How dare he accuse you of trying to pull a fast one?
You run your fingers through your hair. You don’t feel like moving forward because you’ve lost the energy to get a lot done today. You just want to fume and you walk to your boss’ office to complain and have someone agree with you.
There goes a day of productivity.
If you want to maintain your energy, you need to clear the blockages. Don’t take things personally, don’t feed your ego’s desire to vent and draw attention to itself. Let the drama go. You can choose to go with the problems, ego and power drain, or choose to remain energetic.
*Michael Singer, The Surrender Experiment
Waiting
You’re waiting in line at the (fill in the blank: post office, grocery store, gas station).
Do you grab your phone and surf the ‘net? Do you get on Facebook? Do you sigh and impatiently monitor the line, wishing you were somewhere else?
An alternative activity: sit with your eyes closed. Breathe in. Breathe out. Feel sensation in your hands, feet, stomach. Want a sample of nirvana? Ask yourself, “I wonder what my next thought will be?” And wait. The moment that follows, where you mind is completely blank, that is complete peace of mind.*
*Eckhart Tolle
Mind-Body Connection
Have you ever had a thought and felt a change in your body?
Have you ever thought of something that bothered you and gotten a stomach ache?
When you think of your upcoming vacation, does your heart get happy?
Our thoughts affect our minds.
You have control over your mind.
Do you choose to be happy?
How to Avoid Letting Ego Ruin Your Night
We are at the Ikeda Theater, waiting to watch Itzhak Perlman. We’re in the nosebleeds section, despite paying several hundred dollars. But this is Perlman. You can’t put a price on this.
Who comes to sit right next to us, but the girl and the mom who were so rude during summer symphony camp! I had set some gifts for the teachers and a sweater on my seat and came back after lunch to find them removed. “Mrs. S.” was sitting in our seats, her tripod and fancy camera all set up to capture her princess in her quartet group. She had placed my possessions in “lost and found.”
I was fuming.
And here we are now. It’s funny how feelings can come to surface again.
Deep breath. This pain is ego. You cannot fight ego by resisting it.
This is called “practice” or meditation. Be mindful. Be aware. And let it go.
People are talking while Mr. Perlman is playing. Let it go.
It is not always easy.
I’m sitting with my husband and my daughters who are dressed in their finest clothes. They did their hair in fancy dos and they feel special because we are taking them out to see Itzhak Perlman.
I choose to enjoy the evening, moment by moment.
Your “Role” Vs. “Being”
You’re a parent and you want to do a good an excellent job. Afterall, what could be more important? I’ve learned (the hard way), that to be a good parent, you have to both DO and BE.
DO – remind your kids to brush their teeth, make their beds, do their homework, etc.
BE – sit with them and just listen. 100% listening, with your eyes and ears and your full attention. Laugh with them. Ask questions and know them as people. They are people, separate from you.
You have a job: protect, nurture, teach.
But then, let them go and love them for who they are.
Let It Go Through You
I am practicing something I’d like to share with you. It’s been so effective for me!
Eckhart Tolle advises that you do this in order to stop letting things and people bother you.
When faced with a comment, a gesture, or an event that upsets you, imagine yourself transparent and imagine this offending element going through you. It just goes through you. You don’t resist it, you don’t react, just let it go through you.
Let me know if this works for you.
Brick by Brick
Let’s say your life is a small house made of brick. Each day is one brick. Is any day really more important than another? How would you feel if you realized, at the end of construction, that most of those bricks were spent worry, hurrying, or wishing for the one Vacation Day brick…or the Promotion Day brick? Pretty silly, eh?
Conversely, what kind of house – life – would you have if each day (brick) was spent in full presence? What if you placed each brick carefully, lovingly and enjoyed the process?
Each brick is important, but the most important one is the one you’re laying down right now.
Simple, but Not Easy
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
Leonard da Vinci
Do not confuse simplicity with ease.
Achieving extraordinary things is simple, but not easy.
It takes a lot of work and a lot of time. That’s why it’s newsworthy when someone does it.
Contemplation
“If not now, when?”
Hillel the Elder
Kismet 