Most of us live our lives hungry, hungry for love, attention, praise, success. But no matter how much we take in, it’s hard to be satisfied and feel full. We may get what we need momentarily, but then before long we’re craving more. It is easy to spend each day waiting for tomorrow when we will get what we dream of. Most think that tomorrow they will arrive arrive at their goal, find a new job, have good weather, or finally, magically, meet the love of their life.

But when tomorrow comes it’s another day, just like this one. Unless we know what this day is, and how to live it fully and truly, the fulfillment we dream of never comes. In Zen this is called being a hungry ghost- someone at a banquet who eats and eats, but is still unable to taste the food, feel full or be nourished by it.

The good news is that we can learn to eat, digest and be nourished by all that comes to us. Zen practice is about stopping the merry go round of our minds and heart.

We take our attention off the prizes we think are waiting for us, off being good enough someday, and realize we’re good enough now. At this very moment we are that which we seek so fervently.

How To Take The First Step

Stop For A Moment

Practice is about stopping. We stop our usual way of running,moving, chasing, fixing, thinking, doing and take a breath. Just a simple breath, just like one we take every moment of our lives, but pay no attention to. The first step is to take charge of our focus and pay attention to what’s going on now,right here, under our eyes, to this very breath.

Without this precious breath and the one that follows it, we would not be anywhere. Strange, isn’t it, how we take this breath for granted. What else do we take for granted? It’s worthwhile to look and see.

Exercise: Paying Attention

Consider for a moment what you pay attention to all day long. What seems important to you, what do you take for granted and hardly attend to at all? Write it down. Do not judge your answers. Be honest and simple. As you keep track all week long, you’ll be amazed at what claims your attention, what you give your life force to.

Most of us spend our lives paying attention to the dreams created by our racing, scheming minds. We allow this Monkey Mind to rule us. The monkey mind is the mind that hops from person to person, job to job, desire to desire, thought to thought. It always wants more, never feels good and doesn’t now how to say thank you.

It chatters endlessly and is an expert in spoiling, judging and criticizing everything. Sometimes it is very loud in our lives. Other times it settles down. This monkey mind pursues that which has no value and doesn’t know how to find that which it is yearning for.

In order to fill our hungry hearts, we must learn how to recognize and dissolve this monkey mind, to take our attention away from it, to turn our focus to what counts.

Exercise: Stop The Monkey Mind

Spend some time getting to know how the Monkey Mind is operating in your life. Much of our misery is caused by IT. The first step is becoming aware. We need not hate, reject or try to get rid of it, just to recognize what’s going on. This recognition takes its power away. As we learn to make friends with this part of ourselves we help it to settle down and take its proper place. As you pay attention and stay in the present, little by little you will be returning to your original self. This is the part of yourself which knows the truth, is kind and filled with clarity. As this part of you grows, everyday life and the struggles it brings, will become transformed. Life will become fresh and new possibilities will come to you all by themselves.

Cc/author/2007

Life is like an ocean. The waves may be very calm one day and the next day there may be a storm. Life is not like a mountain that remains steady forever. Right from our childhood we find the times changing. Sometimes everything looks going perfectly. Otherwise everything goes wrong. Why and what to do about this?

Some of us call this our fate. They accept that whatever happens is destined. Such people may be very calm. Some of those who believe in fate are also very inactive. They accept whatever comes their way without making any effort to fight the situation. Certainly one can believe in fate. But that should not stop us to act positively? How to act in tough times?

1. List out all your assets. Some of us think that they are left with nothing when tough times come. But that is not true. You may be facing the toughest time, but you are alive. That is an asset. If you are healthy, that is another asset. If your family is supporting you, that is one more asset. You have friends? Add them as your assets. Write down everything you have as an asset. This kind of list gives us positive inspiration. We feel that all is not lost. That is very important. To come out of the hopelessness is the first major step we should take during tough times.

2. Make a list of all the problems that you are facing. Divide that list in small problems and big problems. Look at the list again and find out which problems may be ignored for the time. Find out the problems that must be tackled. Begin with small problems from that list. As you solve one after another problem, you will see your confidence growing. Tough times test us our attitude. We must fight them out.

Perseverance is continuing to do something in spite of obstacles or difficulties. It is one of the best qualities to have because with perseverance success in your endeavors is almost guaranteed.

To persevere we need to have faith that we actually can succeed. If we don’t believe success is possible for us, we will not be motivated to continue. But this is the dilemma. If we don’t have much belief in ourselves, we will quit our efforts more readily, and when we quit, we obviously do not succeed and that seems to give credit to the idea we couldn’t succeed anyway. Sadly, this can develop into a regular habit. If on the other hand, we believe we will succeed, we will not give up. We may encounter great difficulties or even defeats, but because we believe we’ll ultimately succeed, even with failures we just change our tactics or adjust our goals a little and continue to try. Because we keep trying and adjusting we greatly improve our chances of success. This is the essence of self-fulfilling prophesy.

So at the heart of success, is the ability to persevere. But how do we encourage this quality in ourselves?

Be aware of your desire to give up too early, and of the truth that persistence will almost always lead to success. When you start a new endeavor, make a promise to yourself that you will try it for a specific period of time and won’t quit before that time is up. Make the interval of time short if you need to, but no matter what, keep your promise and do not quit before the allotted time. When the deadline arrives, you can then decide if your strategy is working and you should continue in the same manner, or if you need to make adjustments in your strategy. Allow yourself to abandon one strategy in favor of another after you’ve given it a fair trial, but never quit on your goals. Only change your strategies.