Articles

Accepting Change

For centuries, Chinese calligraphers have painted bamboo as a spiritual exercise. Bamboo is graceful, upright, and strong, yet bamboo is very flexible and can easily bend in the wind without breaking. Like bamboo, people need to bend and adjust to the winds of change while remaining strong and flexible in any situation.

Life is dynamic and never static. The world is composed of ceaseless change that moves and flows with the rhythms of life. Instead of resisting change, we must learn to move and blend by accepting the changes that come our way. Change ensures success, though it may not appear that way on the surface. With change, we are given an infinite number of possibilities. It’s up to us to recognize the perfect timing of coincidences and utilize the opportunities that come our way. When we embrace the opportunities and challenges of life, great lessons are learned and great things are accomplished.

The Rhythm of Life

There is a natural rhythm in all that we do and being in its harmony is called the "rhythm of life." The famous Jazz pianist and vocalist, Thomas "Fats" Waller, was once asked by a woman what rhythm was. He replied, "Lady, if you got to ask, you ain't got it." Rhythm, like in music, is something that is perceived with more than just the ears, it's the perfect blending of intuition and timing.

Understanding the intuitiveness of rhythm and timing can be found with an artist and his medium. In painting, it's the harmony of positive and negative spaces that create a vital flow of energy throughout the picture. In calligraphy, it's the ability to naturally place a character in just the right spot. In Japanese "Haiku" poetry, the phrases are short so that the reader can enter into the space between each phrase and realize its deeper meaning.

Success lies in the rhythm and flow of life and its many changes. To ignore or oppose rhythm is to risk imbalance. To be truly successful in any endeavor, we must be in harmony with the rhythm of the moment and develop a good sense of timing in all that we do.

Subconscious Habits

Our lives consist of patterns and habits that are ingrained in our subconscious. That’s why it’s important to develop good subconscious habits and practice learning positive ways of thinking to help us live well. The problem is we have many habits and thoughts that usually oppose one another. We have countless number of patterns and habits in our lives that we are trying to bring into balance, but it would take more than a lifetime to remove the conflict between them.

When a person says, “I should stop smoking cigarettes” or “I should stop doing this or that,” if that person gives up one habit, he will still be struggling with the others. Yet, when we take the imbalance of our negative habits and replace it with a positive resonance or state of being, we can then bring our whole life into balance. Though we may be a result of all we have thought, we must learn to transcend thought and move to a “feeling state” which allows us to balance our thoughts and form good subconscious habits and positive ways of thinking.

Emotions & Attitudes

Some people love the cold weather because it’s perfect for skiing or sledding, while others hate the cold and become miserable. Obviously, it’s not the temperature that influences us, but our emotional response to conditions in life that either brings us happiness or unhappiness. While some people discover opportunity in every difficulty, others find difficulty in every opportunity.

The fatigue we often associate with work often has little to do with work itself and much to do with our attitude. The culprits may not be a demanding boss or an uncooperative coworker, rather our own negative emotions, such as resentment, anger, anxiety, envy, and fear, which gnaw away at us throughout the day and drain our energy. We can regain much of our lost energy when we begin to appreciate what we have, start to help those around us, and develop a positive outlook on ourselves and how we view the world.

Quieting the Busy Mind

Most people find it difficult to quiet a busy mind that is normally a constant stream of thoughts. Yet, the easiest way to quiet the mind is to calm the body, which allows the mind to settle naturally. Start by sitting in a comfortable position with the back straight and shoulders relaxed. Inhale slowly to fill the lungs with air, hold briefly, then exhale slowly and allow any tension to leave the body. Slowly repeat these steps for about three to five minutes while the mind follows the rhythms of the body's heartbeat and breathing. This simple meditation helps to slow the heart rate, lower blood pressure, relieve muscle tension, and increase longevity.

Meditation is a common way to quiet a busy mind and shift awareness to the intuitive mode. A good time to meditate is just before going to sleep at night or when rising in the morning, a great way to start a new day. Quieting the mind through meditation is a practical way to develop a strong and balanced mind that helps improves concentration, perception, judgment, and intuition.

Perseverance in Life

Dripping water has the power over time to drill a hole through solid rock. Wind is nothing but air, yet can transform an entire landscape. Nature is filled with examples of the power of persistence. If we want to accomplish anything great in life, we must learn to persevere. Yet, perseverance is no easy task. It may seem that every time we make a little progress, we encounter an obstacle. But if we give up at every resistance, then our whole life will follow this pattern.

If we want to persevere in life, it makes sense to pursue what is right. The problem is how do we know what is right? The best way to develop good judgment is to see things clearly as they really are. Our minds are in a constant state of activity like the waves on a lake. Calm waves allow us to reflect things clearly like a still lake reflects the surrounding mountains. When our mind is clear, we can then make good judgments and resolve to pursue our goals to the end. Perseverance in life is a matter of being natural and being one with ourselves through the journey of life.

Love in the Present Moment

Love exists in the present moment with no time to dwell in the past or worry about the future. That’s why new friendships and relationships are so exhilarating, because they have no history to drag it down. In new relationships, we can express ourselves freely and share our secrets. Yet, when personal relationships slide from the magical to the mundane, they become laden with burdens of the past and demands for the future.

Imagine how much freer our relationships would be if we live more fully in the present. We can bring a loving, vibrant quality to all our relationships by releasing past hurts and forgiving old grievances. Healthy relationships are created when people love, accept, and encourage each other everyday. Joyful people know the value of living in the now. By learning to live in the present moment, we are open to the love that life offers us right now.

Our Inner Fears

A natural response to danger in our world is fear, which is a valuable warning signal. In a “fight or flight” response our muscles tense, our heartbeat speeds up, and our bodies churn out adrenaline to meet the perceived threat. Yet in our modern world, many problems can’t be remedied by a “fight or flight” response. With no outlet, our bodies remain stressed and tensed. Over time, this accumulation of stress can lead to chronic illness.

By realizing our inner fears and learning to overcome them we become centered and balanced, even in the most difficult situations. Like a herd of frightened sheep, emotions can run wild at times. We can avoid this type of panic with knowledge and awareness. Most inner fears are shadows that fall away in the light of greater awareness. As our fear diminishes, our minds open to new experiences and insights that can benefit and enrich our lives.