Monk Moment 33 – Authoring Your Life
Written by Jerry on February 18, 2010 – 10:14 am -
Authoring Your Life
This audio is part of the collection from the Joan Kenly Show. You can listen online or download all of her shows–as well as find more information about her guests, their organizations, and her at www.joankenley.com
Authoring your life path is a meaningful choice at every age, and there is always something to learn about how to do it more effectively. Our expert panel brings inspiration and suggestions to make this authorship fresh. Acknowledging that wisdom for this journey can come from every generation, we cover:
* the value of setting clear intentions
* reasons to include grace, gratitude, reflection and forgiveness every day
* why anger is such a burden
* how important it is to set aside time to listen to inner guidance
* when expectations can become an issue
Featured Guests
Gwen Mazer brings a new dimension to growing in age in the 21st century with her new book: Wise Talk, Wild Women, a collection of conversations with prominent luminaries. A former fashion editor and columnist for Harpers Bazaar, she has been a boutique owner in New York and San Francisco. Her workshops and Wild Women Sunday Salons are forums for women exploring their life path. Ms. Mazer’s company is Total Image Management. www.gwenmazer.com
George Schofield, PhD, is the author of After 50 It’s Up to Us. As a researcher, personal coach, author, speaker, and consultant to employers, he focuses his interest on the skills needed for living well after mid-life and is an expert in human and organizational development, professional career management, and the art of balancing an intelligent life plan. Dr. Schofield is also a founding principle of The Clarity Group, located in San Francisco.
Brenda Wade, PhD shares vivid stories and guidelines in her book Power Choices about inner discoveries that are essential for key life transitions. She has earned numerous awards as a psychologist, author, television host, keynote speaker, and seminar leader. Brenda appears weekly on The Today Show and is host of Black Renaissance on the CW Network. Dr. Wade’s other books are Love Lessons and What Mama Couldn’t Tell Us About Love.
You can listen online or download all of her shows–as well as find more information about her guests, their organizations, and her at www.joankenley.com
Never Stop Exploring Life!
Jerry L Saunders, RM
Tags: Boutique Owner, Brenda Wade, Clarity Group, Expert Panel, Fashion Editor, Harpers Bazaar, Image Management, Inner Guidance, Intelligent Life, Key Life, Keynote Speaker, Life Path, Life Transitions, Mazer, Meaningful Choice, Mid Life, Personal Coach, Rsquo, Television Host, Wild Women
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The Use Of Autosuggestion
Written by Jerry on December 30, 2009 – 2:12 am -
by Emile Coue
Let us now return to the point where I said that we can control and lead our imagination, just as a torrent or an unbroken horse can be controlled. To do so, it is enough in the ?rst place to know that this is possible (of which fact almost everyone is ignorant) and secondly, to know by what means it can be done. Well, the means is very simple; it is that which we have used every day since we came into the world, without wishing or knowing it and absolutely unconsciously, but which unfortunately for us, we often use wrongly and to our own detriment. This means is autosuggestion.
Whereas we constantly give ourselves unconscious autosuggestions, all we have to do is to give ourselves conscious ones, and the process consists in this: ?rst, to weigh carefully in one’s mind the things which are to be the object of the autosuggestion, and according as they require the answer “yes” or “no” to repeat several times without thinking of anything else: “This thing is coming”, or “this thing is going away”; “this thing will, or will not happen, etc., etc. . . .”. (Of course, the thing must be in our power.) If the unconscious accepts this suggestion and transforms it into an autosuggestion, the thing or things are realized in every particular.
Thus understood, autosuggestion is nothing but hypnotism as I see it, and I would de?ne it in these simple words: The in?uence of the imagination upon the moral and physical being of mankind. Now this in?uence is undeniable, and without returning to previous examples, I will quote a few others.
If you persuade yourself that you can do a certain thing, provided this thing be possible, you will do it however dif?cult it may be. If on the contrary you imagine that you cannot do the simplest thing in the world, it is impossible for you to do it, and molehills become for you unscalable mountains.
Such is the case of neurasthenics, who, believing themselves incapable of the least effort, often ?nd it impossible even to walk a few steps without being exhausted. And these same neurasthenics sink more deeply into their depression, the more efforts they make to throw it off, like the poor wretch in the quicksands who sinks in all the deeper the more he tries to struggle out.
In the same way it is suf?cient to think a pain is going, to feel it indeed disappear little by little, and inversely, it is enough to think that one suffers in order to feel the pain begin to come immediately.
I know certain people who predict in advance that the will have a sick headache on a certain day, in certain circumstances, and on that day, in the given circumstances, sure enough, they feel it. They brought their illness on themselves, just as others cure theirs by conscious autosuggestion. Read more »
Tags: Autosuggestion, Contrary, Cult, Detriment, Emile Coue, Hypnotism, Imagination, Imagine, Mankind, Mountains, Rsquo, Several Times, Simplest Thing, Suggestion, Torrent, Unbroken Horse
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The Stages of the Mind
Written by Jerry on November 21, 2009 – 2:17 am -The Stages of the Mind
For our purpose here, there are three unique stages in the mind that depict how it’s functioning at any given time. Some meditation experts and psychologists may define many more levels but, I want to keep it simple, short and useful for you.
One: The Normal Mind
In the “normal” state of mind, your mind is working in many directions – which means it’s bouncing from one idea and thought to the next. In fact, this is really an abnormal activity for the mind because it needs to focus on fewer ideas if it’s to be successful in dealing with daily life.
Stimuli from all around you are constantly coming at your mind. When something new stimulates your mind, it moves from its previous thought to the new one. Although you feel like you are completely in control of yourself during this, you probably aren’t.
You have very little control over the way that you behave and think during this "mind bouncing." Not only do your thoughts move from one thing to the next thing quickly, but your body begins to speed up too. Your emotions will follow soon.
An example of this type of brain activity can be as simple as seeing a child playing. If you see the child while you are driving, your mind goes from control of the vehicle to the child. She’s cute, playing and riding her bike. Then, your mind moves to thoughts from your own childhood. You feel good and smile at the happy memories.
Of course, it doesn’t always play out so innocently. You can go through these same thought and emotional processes with negative images too.
Consider if that child was a teenager, doing something that they shouldn’t be. Now, you might start wondering about your own children and what they are doing that you don’t know about. And, your emotions are now fearful and tense.
In a negative situation, you are likely to become distracted by the thoughts bouncing through your mind, which then directly impacts the way that you drive your vehicle. Perhaps you run a red light or, you narrowly miss a car accident.
As you can see, in your "normal state" of mind, your emotions as well as your physical being are brought into play. Each plays their own role in the outcome of this "mental event."
Often, stress builds up during this process and since it’s our “normal” state of mind, they pile on over time. You can find yourself unable to concentrate on anything for more than a few seconds and, over time, you can have trouble balancing your everyday life.
For the most part, your “normal” way of thinking may be creating a quiet havoc in your life.
Two: Concentration
Concentration is the first state that leads to meditation. But, don’t confuse concentration with meditation. It’s something very different.
During this second stage of mind, you can begin to get control of your thinking. When you learn to keep yourself in this mind frame, you’ll improve the quality of your life considerably.
In concentration, your goal seems simple but its actually quite difficult to master. You need to concentrate on only one thing or object.
To be successful, you need to keep your mind focused on that one thing and not be distracted by any thoughts or external events that happen to pop up. Focus on it, without allowing your mind to wander. It’s not as easy as it seems.
During concentration, the problem is the mind’s ability to trick you back into its “normal” state of being. By moving away from the actual concentration topic and focusing on another, it pulls you back.
For example, if you need to concentrate on a report for school, you could be sitting down thinking and working. You’ll allow your mind to focus and relax on the topic at hand.
Then, you think of what your teacher had to say about the report. That leads to thoughts of what your friend said next to you while the teacher was talking. Within a matter of minutes, you are thinking about something completely different than the topic of your report.
The result is that you are distracted so much that you are back at the “normal” stage of thinking, having accomplished little in way of concentrating on your report. This is just not going to work.
Now you must use your awareness to realize what’s just happened. When you can realize that you’ve been distracted and that your mind has fooled you, then you can come back and actually concentrate.
This is part of the cycle of concentration. It looks sort of like this:
Normal State==> Concentration==> Distraction==> Normal State==> Awareness==> Concentration==> Distraction….
When you can master the art of keeping your mind focused and concentrating, you’ll experience a new level of thinking. You’ll be able to relax more and you’ll be able to actually feel better about your life. That’s an amazing feeling!
Three: Meditative State
In a meditative state, the third stage, you enter a completely different realm. Now, you are able to fully concentrate on the object or thought without falling for any type of distraction. Here, distractions seem to just disappear.
This is the stage that you are striving for because it really can offer you a new outlook on life. In many ways, you’ll be able to focus so much that you can better understand yourself. You will begin to reshape your emotions and make better decisions.
During concentration, your mind is concentrating on the object of focus in a minimal way. Distraction breaks the stream of concentrative thoughts. This means you must become aware of the problem and to go back and change it.
In a meditative state, this is no longer the case. Now, you are keeping the ongoing stream of thought moving. There’s nothing breaking it and nothing that is able to pull your mind from it. This is the ultimate experience in meditation.
Consider this. If you think about just one topic, over and over again, anything and everything connected to that topic will come to you in one form or another. Let’s say that the word that you use is that of love.
If you think of love in a meditative state, you concentrate on that one word which leads to other terms connected to love. You love something, you love someone, different types of love, and so on. Eventually, you have connected in practically every way possible to love. You physically feel it, you emotionally feel it. You have thought about it over and over. And, eventually, you have connected everything you can to love.
When you have achieved this state of meditation, you’ve elevated yourself to a whole new level. You’ve gone far beyond the simple level of concentration. Now, you have entered the important stage of meditation which is called contemplation. This part of the final stages of meditation is the very best level of consciousness that your mind and body can enter. In a sense, you "become" what you meditate upon.
Although it takes some time to achieve this level of understanding, the end result is well worth it.
Never Stop Exploring Life!
Jerry L Saunders, RM
Tags: Abnormal Activity, Amp Nbsp, Brain Activity, Control, Emotional Processes, Emotions, Happy Memories, Meditation, Mind Control, Mind Moves, Mind Your Mind, Nbsp, Negative Images, Negative Situation, Psychologists, Rsquo, Smile, Stimuli, Teenager
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Creating One’s Own Atmosphere
Written by Jerry on November 18, 2009 – 1:54 am -
by Ralph Waldo Trine
It is by virtue of this law that each person creates his own “atmosphere”; and this atmosphere is determined by the character of the thoughts he habitually entertains. It is, in fact, simply his thought atmosphere — the atmosphere which other people detect and are influenced by.
In this way each person creates the atmosphere of his own room; a family, the atmosphere of the house in which they live, so that the moment you enter the door you feel influences kindred to the thoughts and hence to the lives of those who dwell there. You get a feeling of peace and harmony or a feeling of disquietude and inharmony. You get a welcome, want-to-stay feeling or a cold, want-to-getaway feeling, according to their thought attitude toward you, even though but few words be spoken. So the characteristic mental states of a congregation of people who assemble there determine the atmosphere of any given assembly-place, church, or cathedral. Its inhabitants so make, so determine the atmosphere of a particular village or city. The sympathetic thoughts sent out by a vast amphitheatre of people, as they cheer a contestant, carry him to goals he never could reach by his own efforts alone. The same is true in regard to an orator and his audience.
Napoleon’s army is in the East. The plague is beginning to make inroads into its ranks. Long lines of men are lying on cots and on the ground in an open space adjoining the army. Fear has taken a vital hold of all, and the men are continually being stricken. Look yonder: contrary to the earnest entreaties of his officers, who tell him that such exposure will mean sure death, Napoleon with a calm and dauntless look upon his face, with a firm and defiant step, is coming through these plague stricken ranks. He is going up to, talking with, touching the men; and, as they see him, there goes up a mighty shout, — The Emperor! the Emperor!, and from that hour the plague in its inroads is stopped. A marvellous example of the power of a man who, by his own dauntless courage, absolute fearlessness, and power of mind, could send out such forces that they in turn awakened kindred forces in the minds of thousands of others, which in turn dominate their very bodies, so that the plague, and even death itself, is driven from the field. One of the grandest examples of a man of the most mighty and tremendous mind and will power, and at the same time an example of one of the grandest failures, taking life in its totality, the world has ever seen.
We are all much more influenced by the thought-forces and mental states of those around us and of the world at large than we have even the slightest conception of. If not self-hypnotized into certain beliefs and practices, we are, so to speak, semi-hypnotized through the influence of the thoughts of others, even though unconsciously both on their part and on ours. We are so influenced and enslaved in just the degree that we fail to recognize the power and omnipotence of our own forces, and so become slaves to custom, conventionality, the opinions of others, and so in like proportion lose our own individuality and powers.
Each is building his world from within, and, if outside forces play, it is because he allows them to play; and he has it in his own power to determine whether these shall be positive, uplifting, ennobling, strengthening, success-giving, or negative, degrading, weakening, failure-bringing.
(from: What All the World’s A-Seeking)
Tags: Assembly Place, Cots, Disquietude, Emperor, Entreaties, Few Words, Getaway, Inhabitants, Inroads, Marvellous, Mental States, Napoleon, Open Space, Orator, Peace And Harmony, Plague, Ralph Waldo, Rsquo, Shout, Virtue
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Take It Easy
Written by Jerry on November 7, 2009 – 4:18 am -Take It Easy
Can you remember your childhood days? During those times, nothing yet seemed complicated – all we had to think about were crayons, cookies, or Santa Claus. We didn’t care about the things we didn’t know because we were just too oblivious of the things that might bother us.
But as we grow older, we get anxious with the things that surround us – life and death, loving and parting, success and failure, to name a few. We find that almost everyday, we are obliged to be concerned about people or events.
Nevertheless, always keep this in mind: Don’t take things as if they are responsible for the way you feel. Events or situations do not trouble you. How you look at them does.
If you miss those carefree days, you just have to look back at how you used to view things then, and you will know what to do now. Here’s a guide to make sure you won’t lose your way:
Cherish the simple things: Trust in the power of a smile or laughter, a kiss or a hug. Believe in kindness, honesty, dreams, and imagination. Living positively is the first step to becoming happy.
Loosen up. Laugh at your mistakes. You might remember the time when you were delivering your speech and your mind went completely blank right in the middle of delivering it. It’s embarrassing. But most likely, your audience will forget about it in a day or two. We all mess up occasionally. The good thing is that people tend to forget such situations.
Surround yourself with what you love. Get a pet. Retain film moments as keepsakes. Keep away from those that drag you down. If that high-paying job makes you sulk at the thought of having to go to work, find a job you like first before quitting. If some people force you to comply even if you think of doing otherwise, stay away from their company.
Don’t put off. Go on that trip. Take your Master’s. You’ll never know the extent of your life. Do something, while you can.
Don’t push yourself too hard trying to please everyone. You just can’t. And it never seems to be worth it anyway. When you want to make somebody’s day, start with your loved ones.
Keep fit. Be that attractive person you always picture yourself to be. Cherish your health. It’s the best way of showing you are putting your best face forward.
Do not assume. Don’t fret about forgetting your speech before you actually do it. Don’t worry about not getting the job you want because you might mess up at the interview. It’s good to expect the worst; but don’t end up expecting only the worst.
Alter your way of thinking. When you’re being ridiculed, criticized about your family background, or condemned for past mistakes, put on deaf ears. Don’t believe everything you hear. You know yourself better than everybody else does. Never wallow in self-pity.
Remember: Don’t get upset over things just because it’s how most people would react when faced with the same situation. When you find yourself being negative – angry, down, jealous, etc. – you also unknowingly drain your energy and enthusiasm. You just have to try keeping these negative feelings in the low, because giving in to these emotions would sometimes make you unreasonable, and you might end up making bad decisions.
Happiness is always in your grasp. You can attain it, as long as you know how.
Never Stop Exploring Life!
Jerry L Saunders, RM
Tags: Audience, Carefree Days, Childhood Days, Crayons, Delivering Your Speech, Dreams, Extent, Film Moments, High Paying Job, honesty, Imagination, Kindness, Kiss, Laugh, Laughter, Life And Death, Rsquo, Santa Claus, Smile, Success And Failure
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