Affirmation and Micro-habits

If you have heard the TED talk on micro-habits you would have realised how important it is to cultivate in ourselves and can potentially change our life and behavioral patterns. Very useful for both novice and addicts who want to make a change in life.

What I observed is affirmations can be tied with micro-habits to create change in the Subconscious mind itself.

Example : a micro-habit works like this : before I pee I will do one push up. Effort is very less and making a commitment like this and meeting it is easy. This has huge potential to turn into a habit. Especially if followed correct other rewarding ourselves.

I was struggling with changing a habit pattern and needed to create a affirmation around it. I used micro-habits to repair the Subconscious by repeating the affirmation during specific times of day and it worked like a miracle (so far).

My life is slowly changing and affirmation tied with micro-habits is helping me in applying the principles and making it work for me

The subconscious

Extremely difficult it is to harness the Subconscious. It keeps going back to us old habits. Many bodily actions fall under this category. They are all ingrained in the Subconscious Mind.

Micro-habits to associate few habits I want to cultivate.  Example : one pushup after you pee :) as mentioned in Ted talk.

Know that the energy or Siva has its own ways and paths. Mind can't search or find it. There is no other instrument which can help to find it. When Dharma is well performed and Karma has been exhausted - the Self merges in itself leading to the only possible inexperience.

Fear

Fear is not living in the now. Fear occurs when a memory of an experience of the past is projected to the future and a painful situation is imagined out of it.

You can't fear things that you don't know, therefore fear is a result of mind going to past, its a strong force which oscillates the mind between the past and then to future. an action is usually the outcome if the fear is deemed to be potentially serious.

Affirmation

 

Positive Affirmation is a great tool to mould the subconscious mind. Loved some of these word clouds from TAKA website.

 

 

 

click here to view all the word clouds

Oneness and its stages

 

I discovered this article on the web courtesy: enlightenment-online.com which describes various stages of enlightenment. This is in sync with what my guru says as well. The various states are as shown below. All info below is directly from enlightenment-online.com

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Stages of Enlightenment

The Witness state--

1.  No more inner conflict.  You witness the mind and thoughts for what they are and experience the world as it is.  You live moment to moment in the present.
2.  Includes stage 1, but with an ever present feeling of joy.
3.  Includes 1 and 2, but with a great silencing of the mind.

The Oneness state--

4.  Includes the first 3, but with the permanent feeling of being connected to everything.  You no longer feel separate.
5.  All of the above but often, or at will, you feel you are the observer, the observed, and the observation.  You become the song you hear, the dance you dance, the tree you see, etc.
6.  All of the above but often, or at will, you expand into Cosmic Consciousness and encompass all of creation.  You feel you have become all of life.

God-Realization--

6 +.  Your Inner Dweller, Higher Self, the God Within, etc., (whatever name you want to call it) comes forth and is very present in your life. Your life is a constant flow of Divine guidance.

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I love the explanation of various voices of the ego within us in the below Video. The transcript is below:

Would you please clarify to us the meaning of oneness?

Answer: There are several degrees of oneness.

• Let us first look at oneness within oneself.

Right now you are not an individual. You are divided within, you are a crowd inside, you who is the son, friend, father of so n so, you are the friend employer or employee of so n so. There are so many beings within who are all the time talking.

Then again there is your conscious and your unconscious self, your authentic and your inauthentic self all having a dialogue all the time. You are the dialogue. When the dialogue shuts down you become all one inside. Alone means all one. There is no more division.

• At the next level you would find oneness with your fellow human beings.
• At the third level you would discover you are one with the earth the tree, the water and the sky, you are one with nature.
• You discover you and the universe are one.
• Ultimately you discover you and God are one. You would discover You are God. I intend to take you step by step to the final oneness.

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It is so very true that there are so many voices within us. As the power of observation becomes more and more better within ourselves we being to perceive these voices. They are constantly happening within us even now as we speak. These voice are what are responsible from keeping us away from our true self, peace of mind or the energy within.

Scared of Life ?

Hindu Gods are simply great intelligent beings. Through their form and dressing they convey something to human beings. All ancient temples had this beauty and one thing common amongst them -- Linking the external world to the internal. In any Siva temple, the Nandi (which represents the ego) is the biggest when it is far outside the temple and away from the God, its size reduces when we find another Nandi closer to the God inside the temple, and it size is the smallest when in front of God. This actually is symbolic of how the ego naturally reduces as an individual approaches God internal to him in his own life as he evolves towards Self realization.

I have seen many of my friends, relatives, even parents mostly spend time in the fears of future, avoiding certain people, favoring certain experiences to another, worried about their seemingly not-so-perfect past. They believe in God and the Gods more out of fear of the Gods (which they attribute the difficult experiences of their life to) than out of Love. In reality what they are really fearing is their own subconscious mind and the experiences repressed in it !

A devotee who firmly believes in the law of karma knows that the Gods do nothing bad, they are more evolved intelligent souls who are waiting for humanity to catch up and tune into their vast intelligence and wisdom. A true devotee doesn't blame anyone for what happens to him as he knows that whatever happens to him is a result of his own making. Equipped with this wisdom, he bravely faces those challenges and meets them head-on rather than avoiding it.

Lord Siva's form signifies this subtle secret, about how a human should live his life --- facing challenges head-on. A poisonous snake is symbolic of the difficulties and challenging experiences in life which generally people like to avoid/escape. By picking the poisonous snake with His hands and making it His ornamental necklace -- Lord Siva symbolically displays how to truly live life king size by not being afraid of the subconscious ! Then came a ferocious tiger to pounce upon Him (another symbol of a greater difficulty) -- Lord Siva rips the tiger apart and makes the tiger skin His costume with a smile of confidence. (This story is described in one of the scriptures).

The below teaching from my beloved guru who is a form of Lord Siva Himself, is something which i am applying in my life every minute and have also trained my mom to do the same. Undoubtedly she has ceased being depressed/fearful over the past week !

Do not be afraid of the subconscious. It is useless to be afraid of the past. If memories come up from the subconscious as if they happened yesterday, and you begin reacting emotionally and even physically all over again, say to yourself, "Welcome, welcome, welcome, memory from the past. My goodness, you're shaking my emotional body. I remember going through these emotional states years ago, and here we are reliving this film over again. But now I am on the spiritual path to enlightenment. I am the Self. One day I'm going to realize it fully. I only live in this physical body. I use these emotions, but I won't be used by them. They are my tools. So here you are, my memory pattern, trying to make me feel like I did five years ago before I reprogrammed my subconscious and awakened spiritually. Oh, memory from the past, you have tested me well. Thank you." Then, like a good secretary, write down on a piece of paper everything you can remember about these experiences that have come before your vision, and burn the paper when you have finished. Write down the entire experience that you are reacting to emotionally.

This paper-burning serves three purposes. First, it is symbolic to the subconscious that you are not going to react anymore to that particular problem. You have, through the act of writing it down, taken it out of the subconscious. Second, burning the paper means that no one else will read it, which might cause other problems. It also means that through the act of burning subconscious memories, you have released them forever.

When you begin to meditate, you become keen and perceptive enough to begin to see within yourself. Occasionally, you will see into the subconscious area and begin emotionally to relive the past. This means that many of the predominantly strong memory and reactionary patterns of the past loom up before you, one after another, and you may begin to react to them all over again, emotionally and even physically. These are not real experiences. It is only a layer of the subconscious exposing itself to your inner vision, indicating that reprogramming is needed. Handle each layer dynamically. Welcome the thoughts and accompanying feelings in a hospitable way. Do not fear them or regret them, and certainly do not criticize yourself for having them. Simply remove them from the subconscious by writing them down and burning the paper. The reaction will subside, but the memory will linger as an education upon which you can formulate decisions for the future, thus avoiding the same problem.

Understanding is Control

My guru once said -- There are many mystics in the world who have had no formal training and yet seem to unfold inwardly very rapidly simply by learning the 5 states of mind, how to distinguish one from another, and how to move awareness within them consciously and systematically. They are participating in and enjoying some of the benefits of being able to experience step-by-step direct cognition of the five states of mind -- conscious mind, subconscious mind, sub of the subconscious mind, subsuperconscious mind and superconscious mind.

Concentrate upon that mind, observe the thoughts, feelings and actions from within and know that your mind is yours to use to the extent you know how to control it using the will.

Why must you study the mind ?

Why must you study the mind ? because understanding alone is fifty percent control of the mind. This understanding is necessary to impress the subconscious deeply enough to secure awareness so that spiritual strength continues to come from within.

"Understanding is Control"

The way mystics use the mind is like this - When a situation comes up - observe how the conscious mind looks at it. Then they ask how the subconscious mind looks at it. Pondering further they inquire how the super conscious looks at it. Through this process they get the clear picture of what exactly happened and whether it must be taken seriously or not. The situation was perhaps -- just a subconscious reaction such as an anger towards someone -- so you forgive yourself and forget it. The subconscious was the problem in this case.

It is the super conscious intuitive understanding that helps making such judgments.

The Mind's Three Phases

There are many souls living on earth who are young, who are living in their instinctive minds - exhibiting anger, jealousy, depression and all the qualities associated with it. Just a few days ago i saw a man kicking another man on the road due to a minor accident. The instinctive qualities seem to be widely spread among people -- and the notion of more aggressive the better seems to be prevalent.

Then we come across another section of people who are in the intellectual mind. The intellectual mind is complex and vast. Every day is a learning and there is so much to learn that it usually takes a lifetime or more in just accumulating intellectual knowledge itself. Many souls today live this way -- learning and teaching what they have discovered or learnt. An example which i came across recently is Respected Sir Don Knuth -- who has written the famous volumes of the book "The art of computer programming". If you read his article here at Wikipedia, you will notice how he had given up checking his email to completely focus on finishing his book which will be useful for students/professionals even 50-100 years from now. So many people live life this way by spending almost the entire lifetime.

Then come the few rare souls who have developed the intuitive mind, geniuses who discover new insights from the depths of their own superconscious mind. Here are the explanations of the three phases of the mind from my beloved guru.

The Minds three Phases

The totality of the mind is vast and complicated. However, it is helpful to look at the entirety of the mind in three basic phases: the instinctive, the intellectual and the intuitive. The instinctive mind is easy to become aware of and experience. It includes the impulses of our physical body, our cravings, our desires, our digestive system, and our emotional mechanism that works through the physical body. The systems of elimination and blood circulation and the regulation of the heartbeat are all within the instinctive mind. This phase of mind functions automatically, or instinctively. It is as much alive in the animal kingdom as among humans.

Man alone develops the intellectual mind and is responsible for its composition as he lives along through life. This phase is a mixture of man's instinctive desires and cravings coupled with the knowledge he has gained from others and from his own intuitive discoveries. Within man's intellect, he organizes a vast amount of knowledge that begins to accumulate from a very early age. Ninety percent of this knowledge deals with the externality of the world and mind itself. The intellect can consume most of man's time through an incarnation, and usually does, lifetime after lifetime.

The intuitive, or superconscious, phase is even more complex, more organized, more refined than the instinctive or intellectual phases. It is mystically known as the mind of light, for when one is in this state of mind, he may see light within his head, and sometimes throughout the entirety of his physical body, if his inner sight is developed enough. Otherwise, he just begins to feel good all over, as actinic energy permeates his nervous system. When intuitive flashes come, he knows the next thing to be done in a creative activity. This is the superconscious area of the mind. When man is extremely perceptive, tremendously creative and knowledge seems to come to him from the inside of himself spontaneously, he is a superconscious being.

Instinctive is a word that some may understand and others take offense at. Don't. It only means "natural or innate," naming the drives and impulses that order the animal world and the physical and lower astral aspects of humans. For example, self-preservation, procreation, hunger and thirst, as well as the emotions of greed, hatred, anger, fear, lust and jealousy, are all instinctive forces. They are very real in animals and humans alike. When the mind functions instinctively, it is controlled by the habit impressions made in the subconscious during its journey through the experiences of life. Instinctive also means that the driving force comes from the sexual nature. The nature is turned in that direction subconsciously, even though the conscious mind may not be cognizant of the fact. It also means that in the event of an emergency, the animal nature would take over completely, being jarred loose from lack of what I term "mind-control," or from what might be called self-control.

Jivana Nadi (The River of Life)

Four important things i learnt from my guru during my pilgrimage trip to Tiruvannamalai (see here to know why the place is so great for Hindus), can be summarized as :-

* Practicing Affectionate Detachment.
* Clearing the Subconscious Basement.
* Being like the River water.
* What does it mean when people say "Nobody Understands me".

Practicing Affectionate Detachment

Affectionate detachment is stronger than any attachment could possibly be, because attachment is created through unfulfilled desire, salted and peppered with fear. Fear of loss, fear of the unexpected, fear that life may not have much more to offer than what has already been offered, fear of old age, fear of harm, fear of accident -- these are the fears which salt and pepper the unfulfilled desires. This is attachment.

To be affectionately detached -- that is a power. That is a wisdom. That is a love greater than any emotional love, a love born of understanding, a love that merges you into the river of life and allows actinic force to flow within you so that you realize God.

There is a great wisdom in cultivated affectionate detachment. Let go of the past. Let go of the future. Be a being right now. Being detached does not mean running away from life or being insensitive. It makes us extremely sensitive. When we have the ability to let go, we are warmer, more friendly, more wholesome, more human and closer to our family and friends.



Subconscious Basement

I liken the subconscious mind to a basement. Those of you who have lived in the same house for a number of years have observed the following: as life progresses in the home, old things make way for the new, and the old things invariably are put into the basement. The basement is likened to the subconscious mind; the main floor, to the conscious mind. If one is putting too many things too fast into the basement and is too busy enjoying the new things passing through the conscious mind into the subconscious basement, there is no time to keep the basement in order.

You can plainly see that we have to go into the subconscious basement and straighten it out, if need be, by letting go and becoming free. That's easy to say. It's a little more difficult to do. Why? Because the basement took time to fill, and it takes time to clean. If we were to straighten out the subconscious basement too fast, that would not be good. It would be going against a natural law. It would be like pouring hot water on plants, as they do commercially, to make them bloom quickly. We must not force natural laws, so we take time in our spiritual unfoldment. The more time you are willing to take, the less pressure you have on yourself and the faster you will attain a permanent enlightenment.

"Nobody Understands Me"

In practicing affectionate detachment, we are learning to live in the here and now, right in the moment. We are awakening the power of direct cognition, the power that enables us to understand what happens, when it happens and why it happens.We are tuning into the river of life, the great actinic flow. This river flows directly from the essence of being through the subconscious basement and the conscious-mind main floor, creating life's experiences. Along the way, our cognition of these experiences completes the cycle of its continual flow. That is what we have to learn to tune into. All of our higher teachings give us that wisdom. It is a great step to learn it intellectually and to be able to talk about it, but once that step has been taken, it is not a great step anymore.

This wisdom must first be applied at home, then at work. Then it has to be applied among all of your acquaintances and friends. Everyone should understand you and about you, and if you feel there is someone close to you who does not understand you, that signifies that the part of yourself that this person represents does not understand what you think they do not understand. If someone who is close to you does not understand your inner nature, you do not understand your inner subconscious yourself. Why? Because you have only intellectually grasped certain things; you have not fully realized these concepts. He, the friend, as a reflection of yourself, therefore, will not quite grasp your studies or your concepts. As soon as you understand yourself, by having purified yourself, you can explain your realization to your friends in a way they will understand.

Those who say "Well, nobody understands me. I feel all alone on the path" are going through a period in which they have memorized everything but understand very little and therefore cannot explain or convince their fellow man of these great truths due to the fact that their subconscious basement is still full. When we only learn intellectually and have not put dharma into practice, our subconscious is still cluttered by uncognized memories.



Being like the River Water

Let's look again at the river of life as it flows into the sea, and again relate that to ourselves and see ourselves letting go of the river banks, merging ourselves into this river, flowing with it and realizing ourselves as the essence of life. Let us not worry about the past ever again. Do not even think about the past. Face everything that comes up in the light of the present, not in the darkness of the past.



Be like the river water. Water flows freely anywhere, easily finding its way around rocks and trees. Be pliable in your life, moving in rhythm with life. Let go of everything that blocks the river of life's energy. Watch your thinking and be careful of your thoughts. Judge every action that you make, judge every word you speak, with this law: "Is it true? Is it kind? Is it helpful? Is it necessary?" Become your own kind judge and make each second a day of judgment, for each second is really a day if you live life fully. If you live completely each second, you will experience many days inside each twenty-four hours.

Be free from life's attachments and don't allow any more negative attachments to occur in your life. Loosen yourself -- be free. Attachments bring all sorts of complications. Freedom brings no complications at all. So, that is what we have to do, recreate our lives each second. Become affectionately detached and manifest a greater love through action. Selfless service to mankind makes you free in the world of mortals. Measure yourself objectively with the river of life and merge with it into the sea of life. Let your service to mankind begin at home and radiate out to the world. Begin at home, with those closest to you, before venturing out among friends and strangers. Let your example be your first teaching. Be free from the past; abide in the present; detach yourself from the future; and live in the eternal now.

Close your eyes and visualize a river flowing into the sea, and see yourself holding on to the bank of the river, and the river flowing on past you. Now let go of the bank of the river and flow down with the river and merge into the sea of life. Feel yourself, right at this instant, living in the here and now. Holding on to the river bank, we hold the consciousness of time and space. Holding on to the banks of the river of life is to recreate within you fear, worry, doubt, anxiety and nervousness. Detach yourself from the banks of the river and again be free. Love the banks as you pass, with a love born of understanding, and if you have no understanding of the bank, study your attachments until you do.


Learn to concentrate the mind so that you can study not from books, but from observation, which is the first awakening of the soul. Learn to study by practice. Learn to study by application. Become a student of life and live life fully, and as you merge into the sea of actinic life, you will realize that you are not your mind, your body or your emotions. You will realize that you are the complete master of your mind, your body and your emotions.

Quotes i liked today

When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.
- Confucious

Past and Future are a duality of which Present is the reality. The now-moment alone is eternal and real.
- Why Lazurus Laughed by Wei Wu Wei...

Who ranks as the highest? One who does not harm anything. One who never retaliates. One who is always at peace regardless of the other person's disposition.
- Buddha

You are now in control of your life. You see, the ego is never in control. The ego is controlled by wishes for comfort and convenience on the part of the body, by demands of the mind, and by outbursts of the emotions. But the higher nature controls the body and the mind and the emotions. I can say to my body, "Lie down there on that cement floor and go to sleep," and it obeys. I can say to my mind, "Shut out everything else and concentrate on this job before you," and it's obedient. I can say to my emotions, "Be still, even in the face of this terrible situation," and they are still. It's a different way of living. The philosopher Thoreau wrote: If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps he hears a different drummer. And now you are following a different drummer--the higher nature instead of the lower.
- Peace Pilgrim

If we clearly apperceive (meaning - comprehend in terms of past experiences ) the difference Between direct apprehension (ability to understand) in Whole-mind And relative comprehension (intellectual ability to understand) by reasoning in mind divided into subject-and-object, All the apparent mysteries will disappear. For that will be found to be the key Which unlocks the doors of incomprehension ( inability to understand ).
- 'Posthumous Pieces' by Wei Wu Wei

What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.
-Confucius

Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.
-Albert Einstein

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.

-Confucius

Play your part in the comedy, but don't identify yourself with your role!

-Wei Wu Wei

Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts. Develop the mind of equilibrium. You will always be getting praise and blame, but do not let either affect the poise of the mind: follow the calmness, the absence of pride.

- Sutta Nipata