I've compiled a list of thirteen strategies, in no particular order, that I follow earnestly. These approaches have the power to bring back the "Be" in your being, allowing you to thrive in the bedrock of Nirvana.
Reflection through meditation holds the key to unlocking an individual's true potential. A sought-after skill on a spiritual seeker's resume, meditation is simple and easy to do, yet many journey through life not ever knowing or benefiting from its transformative powers. Here are some of the benefits of regular meditation:
- dramatically reduces stress
- improves focus and concentration
- unties the knot of emotional reactivity
- loosens the grip of toxic thoughts and emotions
- unleashes the inner fountain of creative and intuitive powers
And that's only a start! Ongoing meditation helps service your internal ecosystem much like a maintenance
program helps overhaul a car's engine. You schedule the routine
appointments, take the necessary time off, and gladly drive your car to
the auto-body shop. Isn't it time you tended to your internal engine with
the same respect?
2. Accept Yourself
Everybody has shortcomings. That doesn't mean you have to remain shackled to guilt or feelings of inadequacy the rest of your life. Start playing to your strengths and watch the tables turn in your favor. Change what you can; accept the rest. Embrace the package that is you. So uniquely you.
3. Accept People and Situations
Well, you can't change them; you might as well accept them. The greatest advantage is that it's a lot less exhausting to accept people and situations than it is to fight them. The other plus of acceptance is that you begin to have diminishing expectation of others and gradually become more tolerant of others' idiosyncratic habits and behaviors.
4. Suspend the Judgment Campaign
The judgment campaign has only one goal -- to sabotage your well-meaning intentions. Why willing invite this destructive impulse into your life? Suspend judgment and become a good listener instead. Then watch as all of those emotional walls come crumbling down, revealing the original you that is loving, caring, compassionate, generous, cooperative, connected, tolerant, and forgiving.
Take
charge of your life. If you want to lose weight, get started. If you
want to get out of financial debt, it's the best gift you could give
yourself. If you want to volunteer, what are you waiting for? Resources
are aplenty: books, classes, the Internet, organizations, friends and
family, and most importantly -- your inner guidance. Personal
responsibility enhances discipline and focus, for sure, but also creates
a vast inner spaciousness that allows the human psyche to function at
its efficient best. Step it up, one notch at a time, and watch the world around you unfold.
6. Unleash the Immaterial
Emotional reactivity, since it takes up such significant territory on the mind, is the first line of defense against invaders from the external
environment -- life situations that demand reason, objectivity, and patience. For this reason, you must stop playing the blame game and start phasing out your participation in life's dramas. Enliven your current relationships by trading knee-jerk emotional reactivity (anger, irritation, bitterness, hostility, frustration, jealousy, greed) for well-contemplated responses.
7. Light the Flame of Gratitude
A life rooted in gratitude can have a significant, positive effect on an individual's physical, mental, and social functioning. Think of all the people, privileges, and freedoms you take for granted. Acknowledge and cherish all your "haves." Surrender your sense of entitlement. Appreciate the little joys of life.
8. Be Aware of Afflictions and Addictions
The
merciless world of advertising and its constant bombardment of sensual
messages makes it easy to get caught in the net of afflictions and
addictions, which can span the gamut from trivial to overwhelming, from
compulsive thinking and shopping to debilitating drug and sexual
dependencies. Make a conscious effort to understand the subtle
propensity of distractions to become addictions and tirelessly model
that message, especially to vulnerable youngsters in the home.
Yup, laugh a lot. At yourself. At past situations. Harness the power of laughter to keep yourself inspired, connected, grounded, resilient, and balanced.
10. Relinquish the Need to Win
An affliction of the ego, winning is a temporary phenomenon that is rooted in self-importance and ignorance.
Treat the need to win the same way a doctor would treat a gangrenous
limb -- sever it.
11. Widen the Peephole of Curiosity
No,
not in a scandalous, gossipy way, but in ways you can remain open to
cool new experiences. Be interested in the happenings of the world and
ways in which you can contribute, both directly and vicariously. Be
curious about the Universe and how things work. Allow yourself to smell
the morning air laden with dew, feel the touch of the lush green grass,
watch the hummingbird as it flits from tree to tree. Expand your comfort
zone and go take a class in mountain climbing, scuba diving, animation,
baking, or sewing. Whatever you do, never lose your sense of wonder.
Remember, novelty inspires creativity.
12. Stop the Self-defeating Self Talk
Negative, self-focused rumination
is not just limiting, it is detrimental to your progress as an
individual. Like a good gemologist, learn to identify and separate your
thoughts, to evaluate the color, clarity, cut, and carat of each thought
so you can capitalize on the affirming ones, the ones that represent
love and the truth, and disregard the rest.
13. Take a Positive Leap
There is no parallel to maintaining a constructive outlook. A positive attitude begets positive changes.
