“With every mood, every thought, every word, every gesture, we change our lives and our Universe.”
— MSI
"A man's life becomes what he thinks about.”
— Marcus Aurelius
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Everyone throughout history who has looked closely at the nature of our minds, from Ishayas like MSI to Stoics like Marcus Aurelius to Buddha and Jesus, has realised how powerful our thoughts and attitudes are in shaping our lives.
I don’t think this can be repeated enough – it shows you how to change your life without changing a single thing.
Now – with a different mind and attitude means you CAN most definitely make external change, and so much more smoothly. But like my main message in everything I do, change begins within you.
Have a look at your own mind.
It’s very creative; a direct filter of reality. Your mind changes the world around you as quickly as you change it.
Don’t just take my word for it, see for yourself! Faith is a poor substitute for direct experience. Would you rather eat the meal, or the menu? The meal please!
So – investigate your mind in your life, see clearly what it does.
Feeling in love? The world is a very sweet place. Worried about this and that, frustrated by her or him? Again – the world is coloured by that worry or frustration.
As Anthony de Mello once wrote, “Thought can organize the world so well that you are no longer able to see it.”
Awareness is key; with insight into what your mind is doing, you can change your habits of thinking and feeling, of attitude and mindset – and all so you can change your direct experience of life. So you can see the world clearly and cleanly.
You’ll realise that the world, and your life within it, is way more rich and satisfying than the mind will ever know. You’ll realise that you are capable of way more than your mind will suggest.
So -
First Step:
Think differently, more positively. Tell yourself a better story – about yourself and the world around you. The glass half full and clouds having silver linings are such clichés, but they are so true. They work!
From that internal different and better, speak differently and do differently.
This takes practice, right?
It also takes slowing down and stepping back so you can be aware of what your mind is semi/unconsciously telling you.
It takes looking after your energy and realising that when you’re exhausted and burnt out, your feelings and thinking will probably be a lot more wonky than when you’re fresh and with a full battery. So give yourself a break, step back from yourself and realise why. It makes living with your mind easier, along with making all the vicious self-criticism of “I should be better” less or non-existent.
It takes wanting to start within and not just blame the world for how you’re feeling. And this is a big one! For some it can be so much easier and simpler to blame life rather than looking within and deciding to take ownership for how you feel, for how you see the world.
Second Step:
The next critical thing is realising that your mind is not the total of you.
We all have minds, but with the right practice and gentle awareness, you’ll come to realise that you are not your mind.
Phew.
You can change your mind, AND you can go beyond the mind.
Where?
To present moment awareness. To being centred. Aligned with the sense of You and your existence, right here, right now. You alive, as you are, anchored in this moment.
However you might describe what it’s like to be truly present and filled with Presence – and remember, the description is the menu not the meal – it’s a very real experience.
Beyond the mind lies so much more to you, and when you return to this presence more and more, there is so much more to life.
Here lies the full picture and potential of being human.
Everything is soooooo much bigger, better and beautiful than your mind can, and will, ever know.
But again, you might already have experienced this. When the clouds of the mind part, there is something grander than the sum of the parts of the moment, something deeply satisfying, something very wise.
Beyond our minds lies the source of high flow, high skills, high fulfilment – and if it’s being measured, high achievement. It’s the spiritual dimension to the arena of performance. You may scoff at the words, but it’s what we hunt for, and in many ways, what we long for.
There’s so many people searching for this something else, a better way of being and a better way of doing – and the ironic thing is that it’s already here, now. We just might not have the keys to the Kingdom (or Queendom, as the case may be).
What I found in my search for more and better was the Ishayas and Ascension meditation to go within with.
And what I found is that mindfulness and meditation, taught well and understood properly, isn’t just about being effective and free of the mind with its suffering and stress.
The journey is about nothing less than stepping into the highest version of You.
So I laugh when people tell me they don’t have time to meditate. All of us – and I know, I honestly know the responsibilities of life being a father of two and a husband of one and keeping everything afloat – I'd say we don’t have time not to meditate or be mindful or embark on some kind of inner practice.
Time is short; being able to live from the right place, and not just from the surface level of the mind, makes life become Life.
Learn how to change your mind AND go beyond it, effortlessly; and practice this until it becomes habitual.
It’s a journey of great discovery and of great joy. It’s not an arduous path, at all. If it is, you’re doing it wrong!
MSI, my Ishaya teacher’s teacher, once again:
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“This is not a difficult path, this is a gentle and benevolent movement of life towards Life, of love toward Love, of happiness toward Joy. All good comes to those who follow this path; by seeking first the Kingdom of Heaven, all else is added.”
— MSI
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Find your way. Come alive. You want it, and your loved ones want it. The world wants it too!
As always, go well.
Arjuna