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Day 48 of 50 ideas in 50 days is The Wheel of Time by Carlos Castaneda. I first read Carlos Castaneda whilst studying South American history at university as part of my Spanish course. It wasn’t part of the curriculum, I came across one of his books in the library and loved it. So, I’m very pleased to be looking at the key ideas of The Wheel of Time. Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of Toltec wisdom is how it inspires and encourages us to take a journey into self-discovery that leads to transcending any conditioning and to following our own individual path. This is something that is echoed by many tribal traditions across the globe. There are 3 specific points I’d like to focus on from The Wheel of Time.                    

1. Make sure the path that you choose is a path with a heart, if you are at the decision stage and you feel there is no warmth and feeling in this choice, forget it. Carlos says, “anything is one of a million paths therefore a warrior must always keep in mind that a path is only a path; if he feels that he should not follow it, he must not stay with it under any conditions…there is a question that a warrior has to ask mandatorily: “Does this path have a heart?”” How does this decision feel to you? Does it feel right? No heart, no path.
2. “Once a man worries, he clings to anything out of desperation; and once he clings he is bound to get exhausted or to exhaust whoever or whatever he is clinging to. A warrior-hunter, on the other hand, knows he will lure game into his traps over and over again, so he doesn’t worry.” It’s all about knowing and trusting. Once you begin that spiral of worry, you set in motion a whole host of negativity and begin to cling to things in desperation. If we focus on the positive or the negative, the amount of effort is the same, so choose not to worry. Carlos says, “the trick is in what one emphasises. We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.”
3. Carlos goes on to say that our lives are full of the internal chatter in our heads, so if the internal chatter is negative or if it is incessant worry about things you cannot change – stop it! “And whenever we finish talking to ourselves about the world and about ourselves, the world is always as it should be.” Does negative internal chatter actually change the situation? Does it make the situation better or does it make your life any easier? Most probably the answer is no. So stop it, be aware of what is happening around you and find something to appreciate.

 Day 43 of 50 ideas in 50 days is Joseph Campbell’s Pathways to Bliss. I have quoted Joseph Campbell for a long time, I love his work and his writing style, which has a poetic beauty. He describes ‘our bliss’ as the “welling up of the energy of the transcendent wisdom within you.” He encourages us to follow our bliss and his reason for suggesting this comes from the ancient Hindu texts, ‘the Upanishads.’ Inside, the texts tell us that there are 3 paths to enlightenment: sat (beingness), chat (consciousness) and ananda (bliss). He decided he best knew what ‘bliss’ felt like and made the decision to follow that path. He describes bliss as the joy you feel because God is flowing through you. It’s the happiness you feel through living on purpose. He also says, “when the call isn’t answered, you experience a kind of drying up and a sense of life lost.” It’s important to answer the call! You can keep with the same routine and have the same problems surface again and again in your life. However, if you answer the call and direct attention to your purpose, it’s interesting how life tends to flow beautifully from that point on.

Joseph talks about our life path and says, “over and over again you are called to the realm of adventure, you are called to new horizons. Each time, there is the same problem: do I dare? And then if you do dare, the dangers are there and the help also, and the fulfilment or the fiasco. There’s always the possibility of fiasco, but there’s also the possibility of bliss.” That is life, there are no guarantees about what will happen and how it will turn out but should we never try because of the possibility of fiasco or failure? It is how we handle the fiascos that bring the possibilities of bliss. If we feel defeated and scurry back into our comfort zone, then the chance of experiencing bliss is extremely remote. However, if we follow our purpose then we have a greater chance of fulfilment because the fulfilment is in the actual journey. It is in the Pathway to Bliss.

Day 42 of 50 ideas in 50 days is The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra. I love this book! My mum gave this little masterpiece to me around 15 years ago and I have re-read it many times since. Alongside ‘Synchrodestiny’ it’s my favourite book by Deepak. So it is with complete exhilaration that I give you his Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.

1. The Law of Pure Potentiality – know that you have the potential and ability to do whatever you want. If you have the will, there is a way to reach your goals. Deepak says, “when you discover your essential nature and know who you really are, in that knowing itself is the ability to fulfill any dream you have…and the more you experience your true nature, the closer you are to the field of pure potentiality.” He talks about the connectedness to your inner source and in this place there is an absence of fear and immunity from criticism. Lovely!
2. The Law of Giving – Simply put, give to others and you will receive it back. Give selflessly with joy and with no expectations of results. “The easiest way to get what you want is to help others get what they want.” If you want more of something, love, appreciation, good friendships, then be it, give it, allow it to flow. It is all energy, don’t allow it to stagnate.
3. The Law of Karma – “The best way to understand and maximise the use of karmic law is to become consciously aware of the choices we make in every moment.” Be aware of what you say, your actions and the choices you make, be careful of negative, conditioned responses and be mindful of your interaction.
4. The Law of Least Effort – There are 3 parts to this law. Firstly, acceptance, accept what is, if it is outwith your control. Accept someone for who they are, no sense in trying to fight what is. Secondly, responsibility, change what you can change, don’t be a victim, take responsibility and be constructive. Finally, defencelessness, no need to react and be defensive about things, stop reacting! You don’t need to prove anything to anyone.
5. The Law of Intention and Desire – I love how Deepak distinguishes between these two things in that desire has attachment to it and intention has not. It is possible to harness the power of pure intention, independent of the outcome. He says, “intention is that quality of attention that is unbending in it’s fixity of purpose…you are able to maintain an unshakable serenity while being committed to your goal with intense passion.”
6. The Law of Detachment – Do not get attached to the outcome so much that everything depends on it or you feel that your life will be lacking if you don’t achieve it. Focus only on what you need to do next, feel the joy of the process.
7. The Law of Dharma – “Everyone has a purpose in life…a unique gift or special talent to give to others. And when we blend this unique talent with service to others, we experience the ecstasy and exultation of our own spirit, which is the ultimate goal of goals.”

So what is your purpose? If you don’t know then perhaps it’s a good idea to take some stillness time to reflect on it. If you do know and you are not doing it, maybe you need to consider making some changes in that direction.

Day 38 of 50 ideas in 50 days is The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire by Deepak Chopra. If it’s thanks to my father for introducing me to Chogyam Trungpa and as a result, Pema Chodron then it’s thanks to my mother for introducing me to the work of Deepak Chopra. He is an amazingly talented teacher, healer and writer who has a tremendously straight-forward yet profound writing style and his wisdom shines through his words.

I love Deepak’s idea of ‘living from your soul,’ it’s the place of intuition and creativity, it calls you and directs you to fulfil your purpose. He says, “if we could learn to live from the level of the soul, we would see that the best, most luminous part of ourselves is connected to all the rhythms of the universe. We would truly know ourselves as the miracle makers we are capable of being.” Living from the soul means moving past the limitations of the conscious mind, the fear, the hesitation, the disbelief, because it stops us from living truly and on purpose. Those conscious mind limitations come from a place of conditioning, of being told what is true and accepting it. It is important to trust that part of ourselves that is connected to something greater.

“If we were able to live at the level of the soul all the time, there would be no need for hindsight to appreciate the great truths of life.” It’s quite amazing when you have hindsight about an experience that felt so difficult at the time, yet when looking back, you can see things objectively and understand the lesson from it, how it has made you grow. When living from the soul, it’s possible to appreciate the lesson as it is at the time without getting absorbed in the illusion of what is happening. It’s important to ask yourself, “what is the message here? What’s the significance of this?” A shift in perspective can make such a profound difference in your well being. Deepak says that asking this question is one of the major ways to, “consciously participate in the creation of our lives by understanding the world that is beyond the senses.” In this way, such questions lead to greater knowledge of self and life experiences. As a result, it ensures that you are a participant in the creation of your life and not a result of the conditioning of others.

Day 37 of 50 ideas in 50 days is The Power of Intention by Dr. Wayne Dyer. This week is turning out to be quite an amazing one, there are two Wayne Dyer posts this week (the other is on Friday) what a treat! Dr. Dyer is another of my favourite writers, he is an incredibly learned man and is a strong individual who lives his methods 100%. I read The Power of Intention a few years ago and I particularly love listening to the audio programme for the sole reason that I love his beautiful voice!

Wayne gives us 4 steps for connecting to The Power of Intention:

Exercise your discipline by building strong habits. Do the things you know that you should be doing and live with the connection to your intention/ideal.

Develop wisdom every day, your greatest classroom and teacher is your day to day life and you.

Open your heart and learn to love more and more, love who you are, what you do, everyone and everything around you. Practise unconditional love.

Surrender to the force that’s bigger than you. Life can be an uphill struggle if you fight against it instead of connecting to the flow that is intention.

And to help us along the way, Wayne suggests another of my mind fooling tricks, ‘acting as if’ - until you are! He says, “act as if everything you desire is already here…treat yourself as if you already are what you’d like to become.” What happens as a result? You’re brain is fooled into believing that what you are imagining is actually reality and the more you focus on it, the more your psychology and physiology is adjusted. Importantly, with the Law of Intention, you must be in alignment with that which you are seeking. Wayne says, “this is a universe of attraction and energy. You can’t have a desire to attract a mate who is confident, generous, non-judgemental and gentle and expect that desire to be manifested if you are thinking and acting in non-confident, selfish, judgemental or arrogant ways.” What are you projecting? Remember that the universe always finds a vibrational match. Act as if, truly believe it and you will notice the changes in your experiences, your appreciation and the people that come into your life. Dr. Dyer details the seven faces of intention as, “creativity, kindness, love, beauty, expansion, unlimited abundance and receptivity.” Intend to have each of these in your life every day by practising and incorporating them into your day to day experience.

Day 36 of 50 ideas in 50 days is The Places That Scare You by Pema Chodron. Pema is one of my favourite writers for a number of reasons. For one, I have always had the utmost admiration for anyone ordained as a monk or nun and 100% lives their tradition, as Pema does. Another is that her teacher, Chogyam Trungpa is one of my all time favourite teachers. I have been reading his work since primary school. Finally, she is dedicated to applying Buddhism to everyday life and making it accessible to all and The Places That Scare You does exactly that. Many of the most wonderful methods for healing and seeing things clearly are mentioned in this book.

Negative thought patterns need to be interrupted as soon as they happen. Pema says, “the fear habit, the anger habit, self-pity habit – all are strengthened and empowered when we continue to buy into them. The most compassionate thing we can do is interrupt these habits.” It’s really important to catch the negative thought pattern and begin to replace it. Before long if you begin to think that negative thought, you will automatically think more positively as you are in the habit of interrupting the thought and replacing it. Pattern interrupt is a favourite technique of mine in NLP and helps you get out of the negative pattern or habit by choosing something different in its place that is not associated with the behaviour.

One negative thought that Pema focuses on in particular is holding a grudge. (You can also include things like anger, hatred and resentment here.) She says, “we’d be wise to question why we hold a grudge as if it were going to make us happy and ease our pain. It’s rather like eating rat poison and thinking the rat will die.” What a powerful analogy. There is a similar idea by the Dalai Lama about hot burning coals and hatred/anger. Displaying these emotions toward someone is lifting burning coals with the view of throwing them at the object of our anger but then holding on to them. It’s ourselves we hurt by this process. Pema goes on to say that when we continue to entertain these negative thoughts, “it’s like trying to get flowers to grow by pouring cement on your garden.” She says, “rather than appreciate where we are, we continue to nurture our dissatisfaction.” And the alternative (appreciation) is one of the single most important things we can do for happier life experience.

Begin to notice the beauty and blessings all around you. When you do this, your mind will begin to automatically find the beauty every day instead of focusing on what’s negative and dissatisfying. Pema says, “we can train in rejoicing in even the smallest blessings our life holds. It’s easy to miss our own good fortune; often happiness comes in ways we don’t even notice.” So what do you focus on? If you believe your life and experiences are full of negativity, your mind will filter all the good stuff and find the negatives to feed your illusion. Instead, practise looking for things to appreciate and your mind will follow by finding the abundant blessings that are all around you, every day.

Day 35 of 50 ideas in 50 days is The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma.

I was first introduced to The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari by my friend Ben, who raved about the book and shared the ideas inside. I found that they really resonated with me. Robin writes a story that is similar to The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho) in style and features an attorney (as opposed to a shepherd) who has a health scare and decides to change his life. (Selling his Ferrari and going to the Himalayas) The attorney the shares the nuggets of wisdom with his student, John who tells the story.

Robin talks about investing in yourself and he uses an analogy that I think is wonderful, he says, (paraphrase) that by saying you are too busy to slow down and invest yourself is like saying you are too busy driving to stop for gas. I’ve never heard it said like this before and it’s brilliant. If you don’t stop for gas, then the car will stop and you won’t get to where you want to get to anyway. Lo and behold, that’s what happens to the body eventually, if you don’t rest and nourish yourself properly. He says, “investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you.”

So if you don’t think you have the time to exercise, read, meditate, or write a journal then Robin gives another powerful suggestion. Rise with the sun. He says, “those who rise with the sun all have one thing in common. They all have a purpose that fans the flames of their inner potential.” I really agree with this. When you feel that you are on purpose or that you are investing that extra time in your personal growth, it’s really difficult not to rise with the sun. I have found doing this much easier since I moved to a country that has so much sunshine. Just before sunrise, the kookaburras begin their laughing call to start the day and it’s so difficult not to be alerted from your slumber by this. Also, the sun is so bright at sunrise in Queensland that even the strongest blinds don’t block it out. It’s nature’s way of getting us up to greet the day with the rest of the living things. (It’s also the quietest time to do some things on your own – undisturbed.)

I’d like to finish by sharing Robin’s ‘7 Timeless Virtues of Enlightened Living’ with you because I do believe he has everything covered here.

1. Master your mind – choose your thoughts, repeat some empowering mantras and affirmations every day.
2. Follow your purpose – love what you do and live your dream.
3. Practise Kaisen – have consistent and never-ending improvement.
4. Live with discipline – if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.
5. Respect your time – focus more time and energy on the things that work and those you love.
6. Selflessly serve others – expect nothing in return.
7. Embrace the present – live in the now, you will be happier, more content and you will fully experience life.

Day 30 of 50 ideas in 50 days is Loving What Is by Byron Katie. Byron has had a phenomenal influence on self-development because of her gentle spirituality, compassionate words and clear thinking. This is a wonderful book, it contains many worthwhile and effective exercises for challenging your mindset from one that is not serving you to one that is infinitely more peaceful. She has a clarity that is refreshing and heartwarming.

Byron wants us to know, “I can find only three kinds of business in the universe, mine, yours and God’s. Much stress comes from mentally living out of our business.” I love this. How much mental anguish do you give yourself because you are trying to control what cannot be controlled? Why do we think we can control an earthquake or somebody else’s behaviour? This is an empowering fact once you realise it and accept things for what they are. She says, “if you want reality to be different from what it is, you might as well teach a cat to bark.”

The problems in our thinking that cause suffering can be turned around once you see them for what they are. “As you inquire into issues…you come to see that every perceived problem ‘out there’ is really nothing more than a misperception within your own thinking.” Byron has a four step inquiry for changing these perceptions.

1.  Ask yourself, is it true?

2. If you are struggling with No. 1 or are unsure, ask yourself, “Can I absolutely know this is true?” You will be pushed to find a yes answer to this one. What can we know for certain, really, other than that nothing is certain?

3.  How do I react when I feel the thought? Do I feel angry, afraid, upset?

4.  Who would I be without the thought? Breathe a sigh of relief – do you think you’d be able to see more of the positive things in this situation?

Then, we turn the thought around, which means, take that thought and make it positive. For example, go from, ‘this job is the worst I have ever done’ to ‘this job is fulfilling and pleasant’ and go through the process again. As a result, you can see things as they are, free from opinions. This is a very powerful process and one that echoes the thought processes of many philosophers and spiritual leaders in search of truth.

Byron Katie says, “nothing ever goes wrong in life…everything happens for me and not to me…until you can see everything in the world as your friend, your work is not done.” Seeing things as challenge and opportunity makes an incredible difference and when you are in this frame of mind, you are the creator of your life and your experiences.

Day 25 of 50 ideas in 50 days is Conscious Living by Gay Hendricks. Conscious Living, another greatly titled book is about living on purpose and being awake, since in fact so much of our lives is spent in a daydream, about the past or present. Gay is a lovely, heart-warming writer and his other work in the 50 ideas, The Big Leap is well worth a look too.

Gay makes the point that when you begin living consciously and on purpose it is as if you are given extra help. New paths open, people come into your life and the road seems smoother. Has this happened to you?  He says, “a field of grace seems to form around us when we commit ourselves to something that satisfies our souls…we are given forms of assistance that seem like magic.” You may have times when you feel that life is an uphill struggle and yet flashes of what you should be doing come into your mind. Then when you stop, take a deep breath, relax and begin following that path that you are so deeply drawn to, it’s like plain sailing on a gorgeous summer day. Indeed, as if like magic, things fall into place and people turn up out of nowhere to assist you. It is so important to let go of the past and embrace life now, creating the life you want and living consciously every day.

As a university professor and a counsellor for the last 30+ years, Gay has 5 points to share with us that he has learnt on his journey.

1. Feel all your feelings deeply – “always and in every moment, embrace what is real inside yourself and focus on what is real outside yourself.”

2. Seek your true self – “Get your priorities straight. Focus first on who you are then let your actions flow from this place of deep self-knowledge.”

3. Let go of the uncontrollable – “the secret of happiness is knowing that there are some things you can control and some things you cannot.”

4. We are all made of the same thing – “when we go deeply enough into who we are and who others are, we will find our organic connection with divinity and theirs.”

5. Life is fullest when we ‘re most true to ourselves – “if you express what needs to be expressed within you, you will be happy and fulfilled. If you don’t, you won’t.”

Day 21 of 50 ideas in 50 days is Trust Your Vibes by Sonia Choquette. I have been a fan of Sonia for a long time and Trust Your Vibes is a great book with really interesting subject matter. Our ‘vibes‘ are our sixth sense, our intuition, our gut instinct and the book is full of great ideas about how to tune in to them.

Sonia begins on a very simple but incredibly important point – that in order to be our best and allow our intuition to flow, we need to first take care of ourselves. She says, “amazing things happen when you get enough sleep, eat properly and take it easy. Your nerve endings relax and your spirit, or the sixth-sensory part of you rejuvenates and begins to shine light on your path.” If we are doing too much running around and not nourishing ourselves enough, the only thing we will be aware of is our physical body’s exhaustion trying to communicate to us.

Sonia continues with the idea that the mind also needs nourishment and relaxation for the vibes to flow. She suggests distraction from the flow of negative thoughts of the conscious mind by walking and getting outside. “Whenever you find yourself overly concerned or unable to stop thinking about something, immediately go outside and walk, or better yet, run around the block to disrupt the toxic trance you are in.” I wholeheartedly agree with this. I was thinking so hard yesterday about a band I used to like but whose cd I never bought. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember their name. This morning, I woke up, showered and started the day thinking of other things. I opened the window and was immediately struck by the delicious breeze which I proceeded to breathe in deeply. At that moment, the name of the band came into my head! That’s nature and intuition working in harmony!

 It is important to get out and about to create a distraction from the chatter of your conscious mind but if this isn’t possible, the next best thing is to stay still and breathe deeply. This also gives your mind a break and allows unconscious thoughts and intuition easier flow. “When you’re tense, nervous or anxious, your energy gets tangled up and blocked…breathing deeply and regularly not only is the key to remaining calm but also connects us to a higher vibration.”

There are so many wonderful pieces of advice in this book that I found it difficult to choose which to talk about but I most certainly want to finish on a key idea of Sonia’s and that is, laugh a lot!  ”To be intuitive, we must cultivate our sense of humour and look for reasons to laugh everywhere…this week, laugh a lot, look for the humour in things…get over your seriousness and let your hair down.”  This week? Yes, this week and every other week after that. It is part of vitality and longevity and something we should consistently try to cultivate every day.