Be Inspired
24/01/09 09:19
Here is a guy who is a motivational speaker, and has a unique perspective on how to live life. Still, his perspective is one that’s informed by the same principles that is taken by the yogi’s of old.
With all the things going on in your life- money, or lack of money, or whatever, it’s always good to have a reminder of one’s mind to get our minds out of whatever state we are in. Yoga, Buddhism, and all spiritual traditions rework our perspectives on life, gradually, toward a way of handling any event that comes our way. Here is someone who was uniquely faced with a challenge. I see challenges as earned. We must EARN our challenges. In my own life, I have had a variety of circumstances that have led me down a negative path, and for a great many years. I had to go through the same process this man did.
Sometimes you need a perspective-shifter to come along and kick you into some awareness that more positive things are out there, and through an example- and this man has a unique example- model a positive outlook that can bring one out of negative thinking. We train people to do this here. I hope you can join us.
Don’t Be Fooled
We are conditioned to be easily moved by commercials and simplified explanations and obvious moralistic answers. Seeing someone overcoming an obvious problem is inspiring, until we remember the many times we ourselves have overcome obstacles. It can be hard to give ourselves credit for these things the “happened” to us. But what really matters in life is how you respond to your challenges, not the challenges themselves. When we meet someone who has overcome a death of a loved one, a severe illness, or some terrible life circumstance we think (and often say to them) “Wow, I don’t think I could have handled that”. Yet, the person themselves had no choice BUT to deal with the issue that came up. Their choices were limited to HOW to deal with the problems they faced. It is the same with you!
Therefore, one must be careful to get into a rut of such shallow perceptions and a focus purely on achievement. This apparently ‘disabled’ man is rich, lives in a big house, and speaks to many many people around the world as a motivational speaker and yet is still quite young. One can see that his perspective will mature further also.
Yet, Self-realization is NOT an achievement, it’s an understanding that one carries around silently that informs one’s entire being, thoughts and actions. As one progresses, a relief from the pressures and internal self-judgement and competition that achievement engenders within the mind disappear, like weeds that have been unwatered. If one is to do Yoga, it’s to unite one’s mind and not fragment it further. To become wise, one must see beyond the obvious and look more deeply and more correctly into the nature of things. In order to do this, one must see past mere achievement, no matter how much was apparently against the person and how much was overcome. Overcoming the ego is most important, not overcompensating with ego to overcome circumstance. This merely binds one’s mind in further, more thorough difficulty at a later and likely critical time, with more at stake.
What IS nice about this man is that he’s also a spiritual and religious person, informed by his relationship with his view of God, and so benefits from the depth of feeling had by people who feel they are serving a purpose higher than themselves (Bhakti Yoga). Some go crazy at football games, handing over their emotions to the team, the school, or their peers, but this man is finding a way to look closely at his context and gain meaning from his circumstance and finding those difficulties positive instead.
Yet positive thinking only carries one so far. One needs right thinking to free one’s Self from the clutches of the wily ego.
With all the things going on in your life- money, or lack of money, or whatever, it’s always good to have a reminder of one’s mind to get our minds out of whatever state we are in. Yoga, Buddhism, and all spiritual traditions rework our perspectives on life, gradually, toward a way of handling any event that comes our way. Here is someone who was uniquely faced with a challenge. I see challenges as earned. We must EARN our challenges. In my own life, I have had a variety of circumstances that have led me down a negative path, and for a great many years. I had to go through the same process this man did.
Sometimes you need a perspective-shifter to come along and kick you into some awareness that more positive things are out there, and through an example- and this man has a unique example- model a positive outlook that can bring one out of negative thinking. We train people to do this here. I hope you can join us.
Don’t Be Fooled
We are conditioned to be easily moved by commercials and simplified explanations and obvious moralistic answers. Seeing someone overcoming an obvious problem is inspiring, until we remember the many times we ourselves have overcome obstacles. It can be hard to give ourselves credit for these things the “happened” to us. But what really matters in life is how you respond to your challenges, not the challenges themselves. When we meet someone who has overcome a death of a loved one, a severe illness, or some terrible life circumstance we think (and often say to them) “Wow, I don’t think I could have handled that”. Yet, the person themselves had no choice BUT to deal with the issue that came up. Their choices were limited to HOW to deal with the problems they faced. It is the same with you!
Therefore, one must be careful to get into a rut of such shallow perceptions and a focus purely on achievement. This apparently ‘disabled’ man is rich, lives in a big house, and speaks to many many people around the world as a motivational speaker and yet is still quite young. One can see that his perspective will mature further also.
Yet, Self-realization is NOT an achievement, it’s an understanding that one carries around silently that informs one’s entire being, thoughts and actions. As one progresses, a relief from the pressures and internal self-judgement and competition that achievement engenders within the mind disappear, like weeds that have been unwatered. If one is to do Yoga, it’s to unite one’s mind and not fragment it further. To become wise, one must see beyond the obvious and look more deeply and more correctly into the nature of things. In order to do this, one must see past mere achievement, no matter how much was apparently against the person and how much was overcome. Overcoming the ego is most important, not overcompensating with ego to overcome circumstance. This merely binds one’s mind in further, more thorough difficulty at a later and likely critical time, with more at stake.
What IS nice about this man is that he’s also a spiritual and religious person, informed by his relationship with his view of God, and so benefits from the depth of feeling had by people who feel they are serving a purpose higher than themselves (Bhakti Yoga). Some go crazy at football games, handing over their emotions to the team, the school, or their peers, but this man is finding a way to look closely at his context and gain meaning from his circumstance and finding those difficulties positive instead.
Yet positive thinking only carries one so far. One needs right thinking to free one’s Self from the clutches of the wily ego.
Comments