Enlightenment: like falling off a log?

I believe that being enlightened is a very easy state to be in. Certainly being dysfunctional is far more difficult, exhausting in fact. If you take a good look at the average American city-dweller, you generally see the face of total exhaustion regardless of the time of day or day of the week. What is it they are trying to do that is so tiring?

Now on the other hand, from I have experienced of the so-called higher states of consciousness, being enlightened is very pleasant and requires no effort at all. In fact it is the absence of effort that seems to make it possible. If it is so easy, why are so few people doing it?

According to yoga philosophy, we are being pulled in two opposite directions by opposing forces; the extroversive force and the introversive force. The extroversive force draws us out of ourselves into the physical world and the introversive force draws us inward towards the core of our existence, our true Self, our soul, or our own “I feeling” as my teacher referred to it. The one path leads to a world of endless ups and downs, pleasure and pain and the concomitant mental noise and unconscious efforts to manipulate our environment in a vain attempt to achieve security. The other path leads to lasting peace, joy and wisdom. Seems like a no brainer, but the tricky part is that we are dealing with very subtle forces that operate beneath the radar of our normal conscious mind. In addition, we are trying to make decisions that threaten the very existence of that “mind” (as we know it).

Did you ever see the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey? Remember the spaceship’s computer “Hal” that ran everything on board the ship? It was found to be defective and a threat to the mission and therefore had to be deactivated, but of course HAL didn’t like that idea and tried to kill all the crew members in order to preserve its own existence. I reckon it is like that with our own ego.

So, we see the difficulty in just rolling off the dysfunction log into blissful enlightenment, and arrive at the inconvenient need for the spirit of self-sacrifice. A great yogi Swami Rama wrote that enlightenment requires a “determined effacement of the ego.” I still say that doesn’t have to be such a big problem if we can just keep our mind on the goal, the blissful treasures of enlightenment, which are ever waiting to rain down on us as soon as we lower our ego umbrella. It needn’t be that difficult to make the switch. We just need to shed a little light on the process, reflect a little and make a rational decision.

Tending to the needs of the ego is sort of like biting your fingernails, isn’t it? You don’t really notice you are doing it. It’s not pleasurable. It’s just an unconscious habit, a compulsion. Well, if egoity is just an unconscious not very well thought out habit, then awareness must be the cure. When I was in high school a guest speaker on social issues told us all during an assembly: “I’m not telling you what to decide, just to decide.” Good advice, and to make an educated decision about the course of our lives, we need to become intimately familiar with the workings of the tools and materials at hand: the mind, the soul, God. I believe this is what the yogis call “self-reflection” is it not? Examining the mind, the soul, running experiments in our mental laboratories. I don’t think you will have to look far to find there is something worth seeking there. Good luck, and bon voyage.

Peace and Love to you all.

Copyright 2007 Bruce Boyd and BabaNam.com

“Two men look out through the same bars: One sees the mud, and one sees the stars.”- Frederick Langbridge, A Cluster of Quiet Thoughts

If you’ve placed second in a writing contest, will you jump for joy and push for better results the next time or will you be discouraged and find an excuse not to join again?

In life, you are always filled with choices. You may opt to have a pessimist’s view and live a self-defeated life or you may decide to take the optimist’s route and take a challenging and fulfilling life.

So why nurture an optimist’s point of view? And why now?

Well, optimism has been linked to positive mood and good morale; to academic, athletic, military, occupational and political success; to popularity; to good health and even to long life and freedom from trauma.

On the other hand, the rates of depression and pessimism have never been higher. It affects middle-aged adults the same way it hits younger people. The mean age of onset has gone from 30 to 15. It is no longer a middle-aged housewife’s disorder but also a teenager’s disorder’ as well.

Here’s how optimists are in action and researches that back up why it really pays to be an optimist:

Optimists expect the best

The defining characteristic of pessimists is that they tend to believe bad events, which will last a long time and undermine everything they do, are their own fault.

The truth is optimists are confronted with the same hard knocks of this world. What differs is the way they explain their misfortune—it’s the opposite way. They tend to believe defeat is just a temporary setback, that its causes are confined to this one case.

Optimists tend to focus on and plan for the ‘problem’ at hand. They use ‘positive reinterpretation.’ In other words, they most likely reinterpret a negative experience in a way that helps them learn and grow. Such people are unfazed by bad situation, they perceive it is a challenge and try harder.

They won’t say “things will never get better,” “If I failed once, it will happen again” and “If I experience misfortune in one part of my life, then it will happen in my whole life.”

Positive expectancies of optimists also predict better reactions during transitions to new environments, sudden tragedies and unlikely turn of events. If they fall, they will stand up. They see opportunities instead of obstacles.

People respond positively to optimists

Optimists are proactive and less dependent on others for their happiness. They find no need to control or manipulate people. They usually draw people towards them. Their optimistic view of the world can be contagious and influence those they are with.

Optimism seems a socially desirable trait in all communities. Those who share optimism are generally accepted while those who spread gloom, panic and hysteria are treated unfavorably.

In life, these people often win elections; get voted most congenial and sought for advice.

When the going gets tough, optimists get tougher

Optimists typically maintain higher levels of subjective well-being during times of stress than do people who are less optimistic. In contrast, pessimists are likely to react to stressful events by denying that they exist or by avoiding dealing with problems. Pessimists are more likely to quit trying when difficulties arise.

They persevere. They just don’t give up easily, they are also known for their patience. Inching their way a step closer to that goal or elusive dream.

Optimists are healthier and live longer

Medical research has justified that simple pleasures and a positive outlook can cause a measurable increase in the body’s ability to fight disease.

Optimists’ health is unusually good. They age well, much freer than most people from the usual physical ills of middle age. And they get to outlive those prone to negative thoughts.

So why not be an optimist today? And think positively towards a more fulfilled life.

Why not look forward to success in all your endeavors? Why not be resilient? Like everybody else you are bound to hit lows sometimes but don’t just stay there. Carry yourself out of the mud and improve your chances of getting back on the right track. And why not inspire others to remove their dark-colored glasses and see life in the bright side?

Yours sincerely
Daryl Yew

I’d like you to reflect on this for a minute. As you sit there right now reading this article, information is entering your brain through your sense of sight. But you are also hearing various sounds, sensing bodily feelings like the force of the chair touching your buttocks and back, the touch of the clothing on your body, and the air temperature and movement on your skin. You are also receiving information through your nose in the form of smells. And of course, you’re receiving information in the form of a variety of tastes on your lips.

And how about the emotional thoughts that you are presently experiencing? That is also information that you’re currently processing. We reside in an information intensive world. Thanks to the Internet, almost anything and everything that a person could ever want to know is only a few clicks of the mouse away.

Recently I read an editorial that said that even in a tranquil and peaceful setting, we are bombarded by sixty thousand stimuli per second. And that’s occurring sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour. And it goes on twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, week in and week out for the length of our entire life.

And happens to be a big part of the dilemma. We are all suffering from “information overload.” And that makes it very tricky to memorize all of the information that we want to remember or need to recall.

Very often, while we are reading, we realize that our eyes have been traversing the information on the page, while our conscious mind has been off somewhere else on a tangent. When we get to the bottom of the page, we become conscious of the fact that our eyes have seen the words, but we have no conscious memory of what we have just read. That is because our mind has been somewhere else thinking about a problem, or working out a scheme.

Today it’s an every day occurrence to hear even young people say things like, “I’m having a senior moment.” No matter what your age, and whether you are a student, part of the work force, or a retired senior, I’m sure that you understand what I’m talking about. In our frantic world it is often extremely difficult to focus your concentration.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SCENARIOS IS YOUR PROBLEM?

A. Your mind begins to wander as you read or study, and then suddenly you appreciate that you do not possess the slightest idea what you have read.

B. When you are in a social environment and you are introduced to new friends, you find that you forget their names as quickly as you hear them.

C. You recall that you have a task to do in another room; but as soon as you start to go to the other room you totally forget what that errand is.

D. You can stay alert and absorb new information. But when you take an exam, “Test Anxiety” rears its ugly head and creates a mental block, and you are not able to call to mind the answers to the questions on the exam that you in reality know.

The largest cause of a person’s failure to focus their concentration is tension. And the largest cause of a mental block to recall is also tension. So it stands to reason that the more relaxed a person is, the better they will be able to focus their concentration, absorb information, and then be able to recall it at a later date.

Today, memory enhancement through hypnosis has become a hot topic. That is to some extent because hypnosis is a brilliant tool for causing relaxation. As a matter of fact, the very fundamental nature of the hypnotic state is relaxation. And as the mind becomes peaceful, the ability to keep the mind focused increases. Similarly, a peaceful mind increases the ability to retain information, and recall it when it is needed.

Self-hypnosis memory enhancement is a fantastic modality for getting rid of test anxiety. There are several hypnotic techniques that can be used to program a student with the positive expectancy of tranquility, self-assurance, and achievement while taking tests.

Anyone can take a course on how to apply self-hypnosis simply and affordably in the privacy of their own home by buying hypnotherapy CD’s. You can locate further information on hypnotherapy to improve memory and recall in the Hypnosis Research Library located on my website.