Category: Philosophy – An Examined Life

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Which Way Did They Go George? A New Direction

“Cat: Where are you going?
Alice: Which way should I go?
Cat: That depends on where you are going.
Alice: I don’t know.
Cat: Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Knowing the direction to point myself gives me a peaceful easy feeling.

But sometimes I have no idea which way to go – I’m upside down and sideways. Do I conform to social convention; which way did he go George? Do I rely on my intuition and higher self? Or can I balance the best of both?

Hearing what experts and my circle of support have to say often inspires me. When their input and my intuition align, full speed ahead. But when that alignment is absent, it’s awkward and unnerving. This is when I slow down; don’t make the big moves. Self-correction is easier when I take baby steps.

Thich Nhat Hanh’s fourth and fifth practices to feed happiness helps me when my spiritual compass is off kilter.

The fourth practice is concentration. Stay in the present moment – away from obsession, past or future. Slow down and contemplate the moment; get in touch with the quiet voice within.

The fifth practice is insight. Mindfulness buds when I stay present, releasing tension. Concentrating on my breathing, or the beauty of the lake and the birds singing, makes room for insights.

These insights show remedies for my confusion; provide a roadmap that’s right for me. The route may be energizing and uplifting; or a gnarly, murky, dark alleyway. Either way, I keep moving. On the other side is peace, joy and happiness.

“The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving.”

― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Decide It’s Not Personal – Pause, Say Yes to Peace

“Somebody says something to you that is rude or designed to hurt. Instead of going into unconscious reaction and negativity, such as attack, defense, or withdrawal, you let it pass right through you. Offer no resistance. It is as if there is nobody there to get hurt anymore.”

– Eckhart Tolle

Always on the lookout to level up my habitual coping mechanisms, I found this Eckhart Tolle quote on Twitter. It’s an aspirational behavior for me so naturally I tried it out. It was helpful; I give myself a 6 on a scale of 1-10. Above average; needs practice. But from where I started – astonishing.

Changing behaviors that are subliminal habits requires intent. Intent requires awareness and discipline. My first attempt using this approach, I paused when I felt a jab. Repeated in my mind that this is what Eckhart meant, “let it pass right through” and it won’t hurt. And then there was calm.

Don Miguel Ruiz says in the Second of The Four Agreements, “Don’t Take Anything Personally.”

“Nothing other people do is because of you. It is because of themselves.”

“Even when a situation seems so personal, even if others insult you directly, it has nothing to do with you. What they say, what they do, and the opinions they give are according to the agreements they have in their own minds. Their point of view comes from all the programming they received during domestication.”

“There is a huge amount of freedom that comes to you when you take nothing personally.”

“You become immune to black magicians, and no spell can affect you regardless of how strong it may be. The whole world can gossip about you, and if you don’t take it personally you are immune. Someone can intentionally send emotional poison, and if you don’t take it personally, you will not eat it. When you don’t take the emotional poison, it becomes even worse in the sender, but not in you.”

When I intentionally invite positive seeds and foster mindfulness, I’m better able to pause! The pause is a mini miracle. Breathing attentively carries the pause forward. The universe offers a myriad of messages and lessons. Taking time for self-care gives me the resilience to meet experiences of every sort.

“Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we wish to throw our weight. The capacity to create ourselves, based upon this freedom, is inseparable from consciousness or self-awareness.” ― Rollo May, The Courage to Create

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Feed Happiness and Create Magic – Step One: Release My Cows

Happiness is not a one-time event. Living joyfully requires attention and effort; daily.

In his book No Mud, No Lotus, Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hanh says we must feed our happiness regularly so it can flourish. He recommends five practices to condition mind and body for a happy life: “letting go, inviting positive seeds, mindfulness, concentration, and insight.”

When sharing on the practice of “letting go” he uses a story about “Releasing Our Cows.”

Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation – January 17, 2020

Using a worksheet from Thay’s Foundation – I checked out the steps to release my cows.

  1. “List the things you think are necessary to your well-being and happiness.
  2. Look deeply at whether each item is bringing you happiness or actually causing you to suffer.
  3. Consider which cow(s) you want to practice releasing.
  4. Write down concrete ways in your day life you can practice releasing your cow(s).“

At first glance it seemed easy. Then, when I took an honest inventory of what I consider basic for my “well-being and happiness” – I was kinda thrown. This is stuff I want to keep.

Thankfully, I saw step two asked me to consider how this “stuff” aided or hindered my well-being. So, loving to eat – is good. Excess sugar and the subsequent bellyache – are bad. Clothing – a must have. Over-consumption not so much. There are nuances within my list. A meaningful look reveals the sad cows. Not being a Buddhist monk, I’ll keep the happy ones.

Thich Nhat Hanh says “Freedom is the base of our happiness. We cannot be happy if we are trapped.” Finding the courage to call out what triggers suffering helps me take the baby steps needed to change my habits.

“The secret self knows the anguish of our attachments and assures us that letting go of what we think we must have to be happy is the same as letting go of our unhappiness.”

― Guy Finley
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This The Life You Want? Level Up.

Everyone is born to a path, in a geography to a people. Parents bestow a heritage; a place to start. It could be good, or awful; likely some kind of mixture. What I do with these offerings – is on me.

Talking with a friend recently reminded me how societal indoctrination influences my perception. Do I want what I say I do; or was I schooled to think so? Despite asking this question for ages, I still trip up. Living intentionally is a lifelong venture.

Beliefs and habits of thought taken as fact, may actually be fiction. Abraham Hicks reveals how my feelings of joy, appreciation and love indicate accurate, genuine truth. Emotions like fear, despair and powerlessness are tales I tell myself. The straitjacket is self-imposed. A good litmus test when following an inclination is the emotion that surfaces.

Every day is an opportunity to sleepwalk through life, live that pre-programed route bequeathed by birth and background. Or I can diverge – travel a singular road. J.R.R. Tolkein says “all who wander are not lost.”

Maybe it’s time to take this life to the next level; or as Ciara says “Less talking, more action – Level Up”

C I A R A: Level Up – “.. you can talk all you want ..”

“If you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I am living for, in detail, ask me what I think is keeping me from living fully for the thing I want to live for.”

― Thomas Merton
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Special Recipe: Bringing Desires to Their Fulfillment

Desires are things we don’t possess right now. They’re what we want to have, to be, to experience – but don’t see with our physical eyes. When we do see or experience them, the want goes away. To be replaced with something new.

I can consciously nudge my desires into reality. Not by coercing them there – but by sensing their presence before they show up.

Exploring the works of Christian mystic Neville Goddard introduced me to a formula; a special recipe to remove barriers and bring my longings to life. Across his writings Neville counsels embracing “the feeling of the wish fulfilled.” When I take up and sustain this awareness … the seed is planted.

In his book Your Faith is Your Fortune, he lays out a simple (not easy) formula – he calls “a practical application” of The Triune God mystery. In Chapter 16 he says:

“Sit quietly and decide what it is you would like most to express or possess.”

– Neville Goddard
  • Close your eyes – Imagine it; feel it
  • Fill up with the Joy of the being/having of it
  • Meditate on being pregnant with it
  • “Walk in secrecy” – don’t tell anyone
  • Reflect on a measure of time you judge necessary for this child to be born
“Tell no man of your spiritual romance. Lock your secret within you in joy, confident and happy that someday you will bear the son of your lover by expressing and possessing the nature of your impression.”

Can I maintain the faith and belief following this path requires? In private? – Sometimes. It’s a journey – but a journey worth taking.

Mackinac Island

“You’re never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true.” ― Richard Bach, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah

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