Life Goodness : Excuses of the mind

Goodness of life originates from your good habits. Forming a new habit requires an effort irrespective of whether a habit is good or bad. One needs to repeat the action/task related to the habit over certain period of time in order for the action to become second nature of him. Recurrence is the key in generating a new habit.

In this blog, we are focussing on activities such as regular exercises, getting up early morning, yoga & meditation. These are the daily activities that are good to form as habits for a healthy life style. Without doubt, every one of us knows clearly the benefits of these activities. In spite of that innumerable list of benefits, only a handsome of people put an effort in generating these new habits. WHY??

Inherent nature: Evolutionarily, human are designed to live in the comfort zone. It is the characteristic of the mind which restricts us & makes a choice to stay in the comfort zone. No extra effort is required to stay in this comfort zone. But, forming a new habit such as getting up early morning or doing regular exercises demands for an additional effort. This means, one has to work against his inherent nature.

Contradictory Mind: Mind plays a vital role in making the choices. The same mind that motivates you to put an effort to form a new habit also withdraws you form the very effort where you transfer your energy into. Such is the conflicting nature of the mind. It gives excuses for you to stay in your safer familiar mode.

It is up to the individual to overcome this inherent force while forming a new habit. Unlike the western world, daily dose of physical exercises is not part of our culture at all. So, if one goes by the mass psychology, he will derive some good excuses to skip the daily routine. But, in the recent years, a new trend is getting in place where people spent considerable time out in the sun.

Summary:  New habits demand new activities. All those activities demand regularity. The inherent nature & the contradictory mind give excuses that evade you to perform the activities. So, you miss the goodness. Think twice before passing judgement on those excuses of the mind which hinder your progress.

"GOODNESS IN LIFE GETS HIJACKED BY THE EXCUSES OF THE MIND”. Be aware!!

Art of Living in the Present moment

Living in the present moment is bliss. It is a complete integration of you into your experiences and experiencing the very integration as it transpires. Experience this from moment to moment, on and on is harmony. Time transpires as one abides into this present moment reality.

Reality: what you have right now is this present moment. As known to you, a person cumulative past experiences, good or bad shape him as a character. Individual perception to a large extent is shaped by the individual definition of his own character moulded over many years. A person neither has control of those past experiences that have given him his definition nor his future. If one becomes aware of this fact then that gives him an opportunity to change his experience /perception right now, this very moment. This is liberation, a start point of his new transformation.

Two dynamics: What is the definition of living in the present moment? There are two distinct features to the present moment experience. The time perception & space perception take a new meaning. In other words, you will get lost in time & space dimensions while you live in the present moment awareness. For example, when you read an interesting book, you would have noticed hours fly in minutes. Such is the change in the time perception when you are into this present moment integration. Similarly, when you experience a beautiful sunset and when you are completely into this integration of this tranquil scene unfolds in front of you that dent you with a different perception of the space.

So the key for you to experience your life to the fullest is to understand the above reality & the two dynamics and learn the art of living in the present moment continually or at least, very often as achievable.

“You will get lost in the space & time dimensions in your present moment experience”

Life purpose & Living process

We have an opportunity to live in two different spheres. Eventually, whatever the energy & time that spent in your life on daily basis go to either one of these spheres. It is important to become mindful of these spheres and see how one diverts his energy towards these spheres.

Two Spheres:  The two spheres are the “Life purpose” sphere & the “Living process” sphere. Your existence in this world is not simply an accident. There is a well-defined reason of your existence. In other words, you are here for a reason. This reason becomes your life purpose. If you spend your energy for this reason then you are directing your energy into the life purpose sphere.

Also, every one of us spend energy in our regular responsibilities such as our professional & career development, children education, marriage, wealth management etc. These are the living means. More and more energy spent in enhancing these resources direct our energy to the living process sphere.

The key here is to clearly identify how you spend your energy in diverting your energy to these spheres on a day today basis. If your life energy is utilised for your life purpose then you will see a clear trend in your life. On the other hand, if your life energy is completely engulfed in the living process then you will see distress in life in certain period of your lifespan.

Misinterpret: Where you focus on & that gets magnified. Say, for example if you emphasis on your child education then the details associated with your child education get magnified. When one starts to spend more of his focus on the living process, all of the details relevant to that get magnified to an extend where one lose the sight of the life. In other words, the living process takes such a bigger shape that it overshadows the visibility of the life. So, we end up spending energy in the living process on a daily basis and we start to falsely assume that sum of all these living processes as Life. So, many miss their life in their living process because of this false assumption.

Delink: So, make a clear distinction between these two spheres & delink the overlapping of these two spheres by doing a simple exercise of auditing your daily activities. If you spend your entire day in uplifting your child education, taking care of their welfare, upgrading your house, managing your wealth, improving your job opportunity etc. without knowing the reason & purpose of your existence then you are into this false assumption.

So, delink this association Life= Living process & direct more of your life force towards the life purpose. By doing so, your life gets SIMPLIFIED!!

Summary:

Life purpose: You exist in this world for a reason. That reason becomes your life purpose.

Living Process: Your regular responsibilities such as your professional development, marriage, children, wealth management etc.

Simple strategy: Many miss their life in the living process because they falsely assume. Life =Living process. Delink this association.

LIFE GETS SIMPLIFIED WHEN YOU DISTINGUISH CLEARLY YOUR LIFE PURPOSE & THE LIVING PROCESS AND DIRECTING YOUR LIFE ENERGY MORE TOWARDS THE LIFE PURPOS

Art of Listening to the body

If you are into the endurance sports such as marathon running then you must be well aware of the level of injuries that the beginners agonize. It is a overwhelming 65% injury rate for the novices. The early enthusiasm that one has in developing the endurance skill diminishes at the later stage due to the injury factor. One of the main reasons for the cause of injury is the inability to focus and listen to the warning signals that spring out from the body. Yes, body has an inbuilt intelligence that breeds warning signals when one surpasses his own resource capabilities.

Mechanism: So, it is a common recommendation in this arena to “listen to the body”. What exactly does it mean listening to the body? For example, you are trying to run much faster than what your limits are. Your breathing is the one that distresses first. You may start to breathe faster. Since, you consume lot of energy in the faster running; your body naturally calls for more of oxygen to burn. As a consequence, Lactic acid forms in the body when there is depletion of oxygen. This lactic acid induces fatigue & hence, the brain generates pain signal in order for you to stop or slow down the running process.

When the distress occurs, the signals can be picked up at various levels such as breathing sensation, faster heart beat sensation, pain signals, heat sensations etc. These are the combinations of signals varying from the subtle to the gross sensations. Some of us feel the signals at the subtle level whereas others feel at the gross level. Some even ignores the signals.

This process is not only transpires during the process of running but it is always there and can be witnessed for every normal happenings such as walking, sitting & sleeping.

Levels: Ignoring the warning signals is the worst thing and one can cause harm to himself. Pain, heaviness, warmness are gross sensations. One should able to acknowledge & honour these gross sensations. Throbbing, tickling, pulsating feelings are the subtle sensations. These are the finer signals that keep you in close proximity to yourself.

Power: Do increase the level of awareness & stay closer to you by tuning into the subtle sensations. By doing so, you will have the power to tap the whole gamut of the involuntary systems such as your respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous system etc. It is magical. It is the body intelligence that runs in an autopilot mode for which we have no control. Now , you get this power.This power changes the way you perceive your internal world. Obviously because of this same power, you start to experience your external world very differently.

Techniques: There are multiple levels of techniques defined in the yoga culture that gives you an opportunity to tap this power. The art of listening to the body gets enhanced by the practice of these techniques mindfully.

Summary: Pain, heaviness, warmness are gross sensations. Throbbing, tickling, pulsating feelings are the subtle sensations. Art of listening is simply tuning to the subtle sensations in the body by which you will gain access to your involuntary system (autopilot mode). Simple strategy: The art of listening to the body gets enhanced by the practice of yoga mindfully.

"LISTEN TO YOUR BODY FIRST IN ORDER FOR THE BODY TO LISTEN TO YOU”

Consistency creates you

Our Definition: An action when it is repeated on regular basis becomes our habit. Our habit drives our behaviour. Our own definition is based on our behaviour. Such is the power of repetition and thus consistent actions when done on regular basis have the potential to give a new definition of you on long run.

Wiring: We are automatically driven by our habits in an autopilot mode. It is subconsciously etched in our neural network and doesn’t require the association of our thinking brain. Habits are spontaneous & automatic. It is the easiest path in the neural network that can be activated without our conscious effort.

Problem: Our own programming and hence our own definition is the net results of consistent repeated actions that were executed in the past knowingly or unknowingly. In fact, we are a slave to our own old habits. All our old habits work in our comfort zone. We strive for a comfortable life & hence, we tend to live in the comfort zone driven by the old habits.

It now becomes difficult to change the old habits or form a new habit as we are engulfed within the framework of the old habits. Your new actions that you want to follow have to be consistent. This is not going to be easy as we need to come out our own comfort zone and that requires effort & determination.

This is where practicing yoga, or going to the gym on regular basis becomes offstage activity. It is simply because, it is new neural network that we need to form but the stronger old network is called upon automatically and restraining us to stay within our comfort zone.

But, remember your consistency that shapes your new definition. If we need to change for good then we need to be consistent in our actions.

Success pattern: Sole reason for not getting the desired result is the lack of the regularity in repeating an action. This is significantly true when it comes to the subject of lifestyle modification. Simple strategy: Constantly repeating a new action on regular basis creates a new habit. New good Habits create a NEW of you.

Physical exercises: Basis

To have your ideal health & fitness level, you might be training your body using some exercise formats such as weight training, aerobics, running, swimming, cycling, yoga training etc. All these of trainings help in adding up your flexibility, agility, endurance level, stamina, strengthening your body etc.

Energy Flow: Any format of exercise calls for the energy consumption and hence, there is a need to generate a proportionate energy for you to sustain through the different phases of an exercise. In other words, you have to become a medium for the energy transference to happen in this simulated condition effortlessly. Smartness lies in acting as a perfect medium that retains this equilibrium state throughout the phases of the simulated condition. Otherwise, we will burn out as we progress the different phases of the exercise. Our inability in gradually building resource to matchup to the requirement that is called upon is the key element for our failure in any format of exercise.

Energy Generation: Energy generation is the source of your resource. The basis for the energy generation comprises of two elements.

Directional movement

Alignment

Yes!!  Directional movement & alignment during the physical exercise are the basis for the energy generation. Remember, earth rotates in an orbit and revolves on its axis. These movements require lot of energy.  But, earth is not drawing energy from any external source. It is simply drawing the energy from its own directional movement & alignment along its axis.

Human Body: Here are the two important elements of the body. Navel is the centre of mass for the body. Consider this as a centre point for the body. Spine is the axis and the entire central nervous system operates upon this axis. Consider this axis as a centre line.

Any directional movement with respect to the centre point and /or centre line generates energy. For example, a forward & backward movement of the body generates energy, twisting the body along the spine generates energy & so on.

Earth aligns by a degree along its axis as it revolves. Same way, for us the spine is the axis. How one stays in the neutral spine position determines the seamless flow of energy in the body. The perfect posture with the awareness to the spine plays crucial role in the generation of energy. This is absolutely true in all sorts of exercises such as running, horse riding, yoga, swimming etc.

"DIRECTIONAL MOVEMENT & ALIGNMENT IN THE EXERCISES ARE THE BASIS FOR THE GENERATION OF ENERGY”

Redefine you by changing your memory

Memory: Your memory to a particular event depends on how strong you attach emotions to that event. Your experience to an event is deeply stored in your memory when the emotion attached to that event is high. This emotion can be positive or negative but that doesn’t matter. What matter the most is the intensity of the emotion. Memory storage and retrieval are faster when the intensity of the emotion to an event is stronger.

This is why; you could able to recollect your worst experiences of your life or the best happiest events of your life in a split of a second. The experiences would have happened twenty years before. But, it is still fresh in your mind as the emotion attached to the event is stronger.

Construct: You are simply a construct of your past experiences. You do certain things and avoid other things in life. All these choices are primarily driven by your own past experiences. You and your behaviour are simply driven by your experiences to the events that accumulated over the years until now.

Take away: Here is my take away to you based on the above two principles. The primary difference between human and animals is to thrive above your survival. Animals exist here to survive whereas human exist to thrive. Thriving means that we create something of our own. Remember, we exist here to CREATE. With this mind set, we can change our experience, our memory storage & hence our own definition.

Personally, I was at my worst health condition at one point of time. Then, it was considered really bad. That desperate situation changed my experience of life & changed my own definition. The experience which was considered bad has given a new definition of me as a Health coach now. So, what was considered bad at one point of time has become good now.

This is going to be true in your case also if you simply review your own experiences. What was bad for you a year before is now causing good in your life. Fundamentally, when we are here to CREATE and so, whatever good or bad events are primarily steering us in the path of creation. So, here onwards, do not worry when an experience appears to be bad. You now know now how to redefine this experience. This event is exposing you to something good. When the emotion attached to an event is always converted into positives, your memory bank is stored with positive data and eventually, that convert to a person who is here to THRIVE.

Summary: “Stronger the emotional attachments to an experience better the memory storage/retrieval of that experience”. Experience is stored deeply in our memory when the emotion attached to that experience is stronger. Memory retrieval is easier for the high emotional stored content. Simple Strategy: Mindful of the emotion that you attach to an event/experience.