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- Evolution of Consciousness: Spirituality is seen as an evolving process, where individuals move through different stages of awareness and understanding, from pre-rational and rational to trans-rational levels of consciousness.
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TAMING THE MIND
Taming the Mind
1. Once your body is relaxed (Ruth’s Trick #1), it is time to tame
the mind.
2. Begin again by focusing on your breath. It is common for
thoughts to arise and for you to want to attend to them. Each time
this occurs, return your focus to your breathing. Some find that
actually thinking of their nostrils and the air entering and exiting
helps bring their focus back.
3. Other techniques that assist in decreasing mind wandering are the
use of a mantra, a word or phrase that is repeated over and over,
and focusing on the flame of a candle or on another object. This
helps avoid giving those wandering thoughts attention. In some
practices, the teacher gives the mantra to the student who tells no
one else the mantra, but you can pick whatever word you like as
your mantra. Or you can focus on a flame or on another object.
Find what works best for you. Everyone is different.
4. It will take time and effort. Don’t be discouraged. It may take a
few weeks or even longer before you start seeing the profound
effects of a quiet mind. You won’t have the same desire to engage
emotionally in thoughts that often are negative or distracting. The
calmness you felt from simply relaxing will increase because
when you are not distracted by internal dialogue the associated
emotional response does not occur. It is this response that has an
effect on the rest of your body.
5. Practice this exercise for twenty to thirty minutes per day.
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, CDEFGHIJKL.
It was a way to remember each aspect of what I
had learned. The alphabet of the heart. While I continued the components
of the meditation practice that I was taught in the back of the magic shop so
many years before, I began a new practice each morning of reciting this
new alphabet. After relaxing my body and calming my mind, I would recite
this alphabet and set one quality from the list of ten as my intention for the
day. I said them in my head over and over again. I found that it centered me,
not only as a physician but also as a human being. It allowed me to start my
day with a powerful intention.
THE ALPHABET OF THE HEART
C: Compassion is the recognition of the suffering of another with a desire
to alleviate that suffering. Yet to be compassionate to another, you must be
compassionate to yourself. Many people beat themselves up by being
hypercritical, not allowing themselves to enjoy the same kindness that they
would offer to others. And until one is truly kind to oneself, giving love and
kindness to others is often impossible.
D: Dignity is something innate in every person. It deserves to be
acknowledged and recognized. So often we make judgments about someone
because of how they look, or talk, or behave. And many times such
judgments are negative and wrong. We have to look at another person and think, “They are just like me. They want what I want—to be happy.” When
we look at others and see ourselves, we want to connect and help.
E: Equanimity is to have an evenness of temperament even during
difficult times. Equanimity is for the good times and the bad times because
even during good times there is a tendency to try to maintain or hold that
feeling of elation. But trying to hold on to the good distracts us from being
present in the moment just as trying to flee from the bad does. Grasping at
that feeling of elation is not realistic, not possible, and only leads to
disappointment. All such ups and downs are transient. Keeping an evenness
of temperament allows for clarity of mind and intention.
F: Forgiveness is one of the greatest gifts one can give to another. It is
also one of the greatest gifts we can give to ourselves. Many have used the
analogy that holding anger or hostility against another you feel has wronged
you is like drinking poison and hoping it kills the other person. It doesn’t
work. It poisons you. It poisons your interactions with others. It poisons
your outlook on the world. Ultimately, it makes you the prisoner in a jail
where you hold the key yet won’t unlock the door. The reality is that each
of us in our lives has wronged others. We are frail, fragile beings who at
various times in our lives have not lived up to our ideal and have injured or
hurt another.
G: Gratitude is the recognition of the blessing that your life is—even
with all its pain and suffering. It takes little effort to see how so many in the
world are suffering and in pain. People whose circumstances allow little
hope of a better life. Too often, especially in Western society, we look at
each other and feel jealous or envious. Simply taking a few moments to
have gratitude has a huge effect on your mental attitude. . . . You suddenly
recognize how blessed you are.
H: Humility is an attribute that for many is hard to practice. We have
pride about who we are or what we have accomplished. We want to tell and
show others how important we are. How much better we are than someone
else. The reality is that such feelings are actually a statement of our own
insecurity. We are searching for acknowledgment of worth outside of
ourselves. Yet doing so separates us from others. It’s like being put in
solitary confinement, and it’s a lonely place to be. It is only when we
recognize that, like us, every person has positive and negative attributes,
and only when we look at one another as equals, that we can truly connect.
It is that connection of common humanity that frees us to open our heart
and care unconditionally. To look at another as an equal.
I: Integrity requires intention. It requires defining those values that are
most important to you. It means consistently practicing those values in
regard to your interaction with others. Our values can easily disintegrate,
and the disintegration can at first be imperceptible. If we compromise our
integrity once, it becomes that much easier to do it again. Few start out wwith
such intent. Be vigilant and diligent.
J: Justice is a recognition that within each of us there lives a desire to see
that right be done. It is easier when we have resources and privilege to have
justice. Yet, we need to guard justice for the weak and the vulnerable. It is
our responsibility to seek justice for the vulnerable, to care for the weak, to
give to the poor. That is what defines our society and our humanity and
gives meaning to one’s life
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K: Kindness is a concern for others and is often thought of as the active
component of compassion. A desire to see others cared for with no desire
for personal benefit or recognition. The extraordinary thing is that research
is now finding that your act of kindness not only benefits those who receive
your kindness but benefits you as well. The act of kindness ripples out and
makes it more likely that your friends and those around you will be kinder.
It is a social contagion that puts our society right. And ultimately kindness
returns back to us, in the good feelings it generates and in how others treat
us . . . with kindness.
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