4 Thoughts to Set You on Fire! And be 1 with the smoke.
Spirituality and Success
What’s my favorite thing about my spirituality?
I can learn from any person, place, or thing.
I can take the best and leave the rest.
To integrate this principle, I foster the creativity needed to achieve my definition of success.
I have spent many hours invested in my definitions of goals, purpose, and principles.
But, I haven’t yet defined my definition of success.
So…
My definition of success is to have the agency to channel my intuition to make intentional choices.
Why?
There is nothing wrong with having goals and wants.
I must ensure that my motives align with integrity.
I must also remain aware of what others present to me, be willing to accept it and
make necessary adjustments.
Ego, Selfishness, and Power
What I have found in my life is my ego leads me down roads of selfishness and suffering.
The quality of my day is directly proportional to how tapped in I am.
To what?
A power that can relieve me of my selfishness.
Like working furiously to finish the day by 4 or not listening curiously to a new friend.
This power is a relationship I fostered with something bigger than me.
It has resulted from my entrapment in selfishness for many years.
Friends of mine define it as a version of their best self, nature’s wonder, or science’s mysteries.
I don’t define it, I know it's there, and on a good day, it’s powerful.
I am full of vigor, excitement, and passion to be alive.
Instead of resistance…
There is a desire to take actions that best align with my vision of integrity.
When I am free to make good choices…
I am free from suffering and thinking about myself.
I know when I’m awake and tapped in… I am open to all the opportunities around me.
I notice more.
I use my intuition to make the best choices because my feet are on the ground and my head is in the clouds.
I don’t know much about Buddhism or Hinduism.
But in the last 3 days, 2 different friends have brought up the four thoughts that turn the mind to the ‘Dharma’.
What is Dharma?
Your moral and ethical duties, responsibilities, and principles that guide your life.
Here are the four thoughts that turn the mind into Dharma;
Precious Human Birth
Impermanence
The Laws of Karma
Disadvantages of Samsara
The Good Life
The first thought to me is all about gratitude.
When I rattle off what I am grateful for, I start with my life.
Gratitude is scientifically proven to change your mind.
The practice of gratitude is very simple, write or say it out loud.
More importantly, follow it with actions that prove your gratitude.
Ch-ch-ch-changes
Impermanence…This one too is most interesting.
The world and everything around us is constantly changing.
We also are not in control of it.
How can we be grateful for this gift of life?
We can cherish it by internalizing that at any moment life will end.
With this knowledge, it motivates us to live every moment to the fullest.
We can make the most of our lives by what we determine is important to us.
For me leaving a legacy of helping others is at the top.
Karma Chameleon
Everything has a cause and effect.
Like it or not, if you cut someone off in traffic, it affects them.
That cause of events ripples off and it will come back.
Not convinced?
Look at it more micro…
Ever mistreated a friend or family member?
I don’t have to walk you through that one…
We create our own karma.
How do you behave in the dark?
Are you different from your ideal self when home alone or at a party?
It is healthy to swing on our pendulum of principles.
But if it swings too much, our ego gets in the way of who we want to be.
If we are conscious about improving our behavior, this improves our life experience.
Everybody Hurts
Back to the beginning.
We all suffer.
It’s a fact of life and it’s inevitable.
But where does it come from?
It can come from;
Chasing pleasure,
Being attached to anything, or
Ignorance of your reality.
How to avoid that?
Tap into your own source to get fired up about life and its interesting challenges.
How?
That’s your own journey.
But, I’m happy to see if I can help at all.
Book a time here in my calendar if you want to get deep...
Ari.