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The Death Of Ivan Ilych
We often read about the famous last words that people speak. Of all of these, the most profound words were not spoken by a real person, but by a character in one of Leo Tolstoys stories.
Ivan Ilych was an accountant who lived in Moscow. The Death of Ivan Ilych is a short story about the thoughts and feelings that he has on his deathbed.
Ivan lived a normal life. In fact, he was quite successful. He was an accountant who had done well at school, exceeded at work and had a normal family life.
Do Your Best Regardless
Whenever a natural disaster of great importance, such as the one in Haiti, we regain a sense of perspective of just how powerless we are when solving the big issues that often affect this world. Despite this feeling of powerlessness, there are those who try to do regardless and, in trying, ultimately change our world for the better.
One of these great people is Mother Teresa.
The Bamboo Tree And Success
Nature has always been a good teacher and we can all learn a lesson from the bamboo tree.
During the first three years of its life, the bamboo tree only grows a couple of inches over ground, as spends its energy developing a strong root system underneath the soil.
Then, in the fourth year, after the root system has been developed, the bamboo tree shoots up to 80 feet above ground.
Coax Habits Down One Step At A Time
We have all had one of those incidents in life where we have reached threshold.
We become clear in our mind that we want to stop smoking, lose a certain amount of weight, stop drinking or one of the many other negative habits that we succumb to.
We then wake up the next morning, motivated and passionate and stick to this resolution. We totally cut out this behaviour for a few days and then, as expected, that habit returns and we are back to our old ways.
The Science Behind 1 in a Million
Professor Stephen Hawking, the author of A Brief History of Time, spent 29 years of his life studying the hidden determinants of human motivation and behaviour. His Kinesthesiology studies found some truly amazing results.
The study was based upon the energy levels that
different people habitually live from.
The Law of Attraction is like a Car Journey
The Law of Attraction states that we will always get what we focus on. Once we state what we desire, it will come to us. It is like ordering from a catalogue, you only need to place the order once and you will receive it.
Most people understand this but do not realise the second step in the process. To give you an example, it is like a car journey from New York to Los Angeles.
The Power of the Mind
We have the power to control our mind, but how exactly can we control it?
There are two ways, one is popular in the West and one is popular in the East.
In the West, it is common to take as much information into a situation. By using past experience, knowledge and advice from others, we fill our mind so that we can find the answers we need.
In the East, it is common to enter a situation as freshly as possible. The term clearing your mind is essential here. Any knowledge, experience and advice has little value, as this situation is new and nothing like it has or ever will happen again. The answer comes from within and a mind full of thoughts will not allow it to surface.
What is the Mind?
In the early part of the 20th Century, there was an important experiment that was carried out.
The purpose of this experiment was to understand where the mind actually is located in our bodies.
Several mice were used during the experiment and they ran through a maze many times, until they were conditioned to know the correct way.
After they had learnt how to run through the maze, their brains were physically removed and the mice were let free to run the maze again.
I Can Choose..
I am currently reading A Course in Miracles, and the further I get into this text, the more one specific sentence comes to mind. ?I Can Choose Peace Rather Than This.?
I have been using this affirmation now and I am truly seeing its power. When I get angry, I say to myself, I can either be angry of I can choose peace. No matter what emotion I feel, this affirmation brings me back to peace and to self-control.
Having understood the power of this affirmation, I realise that I can use it for anything I want. When I am in traffic, I say to myself that I can choose patience rather than this. When I am feeling overwhelmed and under pressure, I say that I can choose calm rather than this. When I am writing, I say that I can choose to be creative, rather than this.
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New Starts
I recently asked myself this question this and found that I spent considerable time living in the past.
There is a wise proverb that states that “We cannot go back and make a new start, but we can start now to make a new ending.”