The PATH²
  • The PATH²
  • Good News
  • Body
  • Mind
  • Spirit
  • Downloads
  • Resources
  • About
  • Contact

Who am I? When was the last time you asked yourself?

4/7/2013

0 Comments

 
Many spiritual teachers and philosophers have emphasized the value of finding the answer to this question, or at least seeking to answer it.

Some have even said that within the answer to this question lie the answers to all others.

If you haven’t sought to answer it, the world has probably attempted to answer it for you. But the only label that really matters is the one you give yourself. 

Usually our label or identity speaks to the way our bodies look and the things it can do, or our minds – our personalities and ideas, and/or our relations to others.

In defining ourselves we rarely consider our spiritual identities. That's because it's just not practical. Or is it?

Unlike a body or mind-centered identity, which reinforces the idea of separateness and individuality, having a strong spiritual identity expands the notion of who we are.

Spirit has an ethereal quality that permeates the fibers from which the sense-based world is woven. It is the underlying essence of all that appears to be real.

Connecting with this makes us also feel more connected to each other and the rest of creation. It helps us to appreciate that some part of us is also a part of everything else. 

Experiencing life through the lens of a spiritual identity helps us understand Ramana Maharshi, a spiritual luminary, when he said, “There are no others.” He is directing our attention away from our apparently separate existences to point out that we are just different leaves on different branches of the same tree of life. True separateness is merely an illusion.

What does this mean in day-to-day life? There can be no loneliness, even in times of being alone. There are no true adversaries. There is only unity in diversity, a common ground from which we’ve grown and are sustained.

If you want a rational, Western explanation of the Self as spirit, I highly recommend Fritjof Capra’s classic, The Tao of Physics.

Or connect with some of your contemporaries to learn their thoughts and feelings on the matter. TED Conversations: The Age Old Question: “Who am I?”

So who are you?

I’d love to hear how you answer that question. 


If you enjoyed this post consider tweeting or sharing it so others might, too.


BODY – MIND – SPIRIT 

Get The PATH² Good News delivered right to your inbox

0 Comments

Be more than a bundle of habits. Over 95% of each thought we think, word we speak, and action we perform comes from the habit function of the subconscious mind.

3/17/2013

0 Comments

 
Much of our day-to-day follows a routine. 

We do the same things, in the same ways, in the same places, and with the same people. We know our routines so well that we can carry them out without thinking too hard, if at all. 

We are creatures of habit. 

Habits are automatic reactions to repeating situations. They are formed by our responses to stimulus that repeats with great frequency or intensity. Combine frequency and intensity and you have brainwashing: the fastest way to form the deepest habits. Whatever stimulus enters the mind with the greatest combination of frequency and intensity forms a habit out of our initial responses, whether it's for better or for worse.

The habit function of the subconscious mind is an efficiency mechanism that frees up limited working memory (i.e. conscious awareness) allowing us to learn complex mental and physical tasks. Our subconscious recognizes familiar situations, recalls our most common responses to them and initiates the response as an automatic reaction . . . all without expending much conscious mental effort. We can drive in traffic and type text messages at the same time without crashing because we’ve done both a million times. If we were doing either for the first time we probably would be in trouble.

However, the habit function is a double-edged sword. Although useful, it can also have an unfavorable impact on our lives because unfortunately it has no ability to judge a good habit from a bad one. This is where you – as in your conscious awareness – enter the picture.

A bad habit usually forms one of two ways; we either put ourselves in bad environments that offer little personal benefit, so that any response is still probably not a very good response, or we choose poor responses to benign situations and then don’t bother to learn the error of our ways.

If the eminent psychologist William James was correct and ninety-nine hundredths, or possibly nine hundred and ninety-nine thousandths of our activity is purely automatic and habitual- from our rising in the morning to our lying down each night – then it’d be worth our while to make sure we form good ones.

So put yourself in healthy environments, expose yourself to stimuli that encourage your happiness, and try hard to choose the most positive responses to the situations you find yourself and you're guaranteeing that the habits you form will be positive ones. As go our habits, so go our lives.

Charles Duhigg’s book The Power of Habit is a science-laden, yet readable discussion of the dominance of habit in our lives and a nice contemporary compliment to William James’ work. I recommend it if you’re interested in learning more about why your life is the way it is and how you can make it even better.

BODY – MIND – SPIRIT 

Get The PATH² Good News delivered straight to your inbox

0 Comments

Motivation: Life is a CBA

3/12/2013

0 Comments

 
If change is the only constant, motivation is the force that influences change in a positive direction.

Motivation is necessary to do anything new, contrary to the status quo, or for a prolonged period of time.

By far the most powerful source of motivation is within us. Other people and surrounding circumstances can influence our thoughts and feelings, but ultimately the choice of when and how to act is ours alone.

This innate motivation arises when you identify more benefits (good thoughts and feelings about the future) than costs. Often, this cost-to-benefit analysis (CBA) is done partially or wholly in the subconscious mind. However, when you bring the process into the light of conscious awareness you will see that’s exactly how motivation works.

If you have identified a change you want to bring about, first figure out the costs and benefits before your ego writes a check your will power or ability can’t cash. If the costs of change outnumber or outweigh the benefits, or if the benefits only marginally exceed the costs, then you have to improve the situation to avoid a failed effort or a scantly rewarded success.

Get creative and develop a more compelling forecast by searching for additional costs or benefits or by finding new ways of valuing existing ones. When your CBA of a new endeavor generates some excitement within you, or better still passion, your chances of a successful outcome are promising. When the risk appears worth the reward, take it.

You may have to reassess your CBA if you begin to feel that your initial assessment has run its course. For instance, once the initial excitement and novelty of making the effort to get fit and healthy wears off you’ll have to find either new benefits or costs, such as realizing that nothing worth a lot can be obtained for a little or that poor health and fitness will become very expensive further down the line.

BODY – MIND 
– SPIRIT

Get The PATH² Good News delivered straight to your inbox

0 Comments

    RSS Feed


    Popular Posts

    You become like the company (and environment) you keep – filter out all but the positive

    Values: the key to contentment

    Gratitude is a magnet for future blessings

    Quiet your body and mind to hear . . . your heart

    Making relationships work

    Find your genius

    Respond, don't react


    Topics

    All
    Attitude
    Awareness
    Behaviour
    Body
    Change
    Choice
    Dietary Composition
    Eating Habits
    Emotions
    Environment
    Erik
    Exercise
    Food Quality
    Habit
    Health
    Mind
    Nutrition
    PATH²
    Philosophy
    Potential
    Purpose
    Quality Of Life
    Reality
    Rejuvenation
    Relationships
    Spirit
    Stress





 About
 Contact



Terms & Conditions
love the life you live

© 2012-2013 The PATH² All Rights Reserved