Showing posts with label mind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mind. Show all posts

‘FAMILY’ - RETHOUGHT

We are all the products of our environment. Our early conditioning at home has a huge impact on who we become, and the people we grow up with will impact our lives in a way that no one else can. We will absorb their way of dealing with stress, their daily routines, their political views, their spiritual belief, and their social behaviours. That said, many choose to recondition their mind at a later stage in life, especially if their upbringing doesn't align with their true-self. They will either rebel, or learn a new way of life, but the old conditioning cannot be completely cut from their mind, it will remain in some way!

“I was angry and frustrated until I started my own family and my first child was born. Until then I didn’t really appreciate life the way I should have, but fortunately I woke up.” 
- Johnny Depp -

EXPECTATIONS:
There are heavy expectations when it comes to family, often movies and commercials portray family as loving and respecting one another, supporting each other’s dreams and ambitions, a picture of perfect harmony despite the differences in personalities and ambitions! 

Happy families do exist, but perfect families are simply a MYTH! Every single family on the planet has problems, ranging from mild disagreements to abusive behaviour, and sadly even barbarity! I believe we need to redefine the word ‘FAMILY’ to improve our lives, and the lives of families that come after ours. 


We must all understand that parents are just people with their own problems. Gratefully, some are more enlightened than others, but they all still have issues and fears. They are not gods, or wizards with magic wands, they don’t have answers to all our problems, especially if they grew up with limitations and fears themselves! They too come from another unit with their unique story! We must accept that sharing DNA with another person does not make us exactly the same or confer ownership of them. The true duties of family members towards each another are love and support, if they can manage it! Many cannot as they have not received it themselves and this is where many problems start. Think about it for a minute, if you’ve never been loved, guided or encouraged, how could you then pass that onto others? You cannot love if you don’t have love for yourself first!

CONSEQUENCES: 
Many people by the age of 40 will give up on their physical, emotional and mental health, barely thinking of their spiritual needs. They’ll fall onto a limited path, following the limitations of their negative mindset and experiences, without ever finding a way out. 

“A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another.”
- Buddha -

BALANCE:
The main reasons why people cannot get better are the absence of self-belief for self-healing, and the lack of enriching experiences for personal growth. The cycle of broken people repeats itself, recycling negative childhoods for the next generation. The statistics show problems with children who have grown up with fear; poor self-esteem; inability to self-heal; poor education; absence of love; and physical or mental abuse. They all sadly struggle to cope with life as they grow older as they have no foundations to fall upon when faced with the harsh moments of life. Strong foundations are vital to become a balanced individual, so we should hope this truth becomes a reality for future generations to come.

TEACHING: 
Love, kindness, compassion and perseverance must be taught from childhood. We’ve all been taught to treat a cut on our finger with antiseptic and a plaster to help it heal. But, the internal scars and bruises as we grow up have never been spoken of, never healed, never dealt with. Once the child becomes an adult, if the healing of these hurts have not been dealt with, he or she becomes a monumental emotional mess, often angry, negative, misunderstood or anti-social, and unable to reach enlightenment which is the ultimate development of one's inner potential as a human being.

“Everyone needs a house to live in, but a supportive family is what builds a home.” 
- Anthony Liccione -

ESCAPISM:
Unfortunately, we live in a society where no one has time to listen, to feel, or to understand. Instead we seek advice from our friends Jack Daniels or Bud Weiser, and they usually sooth us with some temporary escapism. Others prefer to lose themselves to chemical oblivion, but the return to reality is much harsher, and often dangerous or addictive! They are all soothing  temporarily but they don’t really heal anything. They just keep you numb stealing the sensation of being alive! When you wake up, the problem, the pain or whatever you are attempting to escape from is still there. 

WE ALL HAVE FAMILY PROBLEMS: 
Every single one of us has family issues, from the small and insignificant to genuinely painful situations. But now more than ever it is time to heal our bodies, spirits and minds, we all have what it takes to decide that we’re no longer victims of our experiences and to aim for a brighter life.

We must stop making broken people. The next generations must be raised with love, balance, knowledge and education, but also with a deep understanding of themselves through learning about their own emotions. Teaching mindfulness will help the next generation benefit from controlling their thoughts.

Family feuds have damaged minds and broke many hearts! We are all born into families, but before we call it family, we must learn how to respect each others life choices, beliefs and to make allowances for each other’s faults. I’m not saying that will be easy(!), but we must believe it is possible to take the first step! For many there is a reasonable chance to make amends with your family and find love.

However, some families are beyond repair as no love is present. Protecting our happiness from those who haven’t learnt from their life journey is essential as we are all here to experience our own lives in the most blissful way.

“The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” 
- Henry Ward Beecher -

LET’S CREATE FAMILIES WITH BEAUTIFUL VALUES AND LOVE, 
FOR A BETTER FUTURE AND WORLD.



YOUR MIND. Your best friend or your enemy?



Do you feel like you cannot escape your mind? The negative parroting of the same things over and over again, keeping you fearful and limited.  Let me tell you one thing that the parrot isn’t telling you, none of it is true. You just need to learn how to control your mind and keep it positive and rational.

Meditation is one of the ways and another is counselling.  They’re both efficient methods, however you must be dedicated as your mind will fight change, you’ll probably think something like -“You don't need to see anyone, you’re not crazy!”  Or, “You look so stupid in the lotus position, forget about it and watch TV.”

"You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind."  - Joyce Meyer -

Your mind’s biggest fear is change, it will try to convince you it won’t work, or that it’s too risky, or its number one excuse to stop you: what will people think? But it’s just fear, a fiction of your imagination, you just need to tell it that everything is going to be fine, I want to try this and I believe in myself. 

It is important to understand that the mind is primitive.  And, like anything primitive it needs to be tamed and developed in order to live a good life.  Once we gain control of it, it becomes a powerful ally with incredible abilities, just ask life’s high achievers.  Most of our negative thoughts are related to our past actions and mistakes, let’s call them life experiences; the judgement of others and the taking of risks to better our lives.  A weak mind will repeatedly ask itself the same insecure questions and may continually make bad choices.

“We deal with our mind from morning till evening, and it can be our friend or our worst enemy.” - Matthieu Ricard -

The fear of being alone with our thoughts is one of the reasons millions of people become workaholics, to avoid their mind working against them, they try to always stay busy.  It’s a coping mechanism that is very common. We try to forget our worries, our fears and our disappointments, by keeping busy to drown it all out. To a certain extent being active is a good way of diluting the negative thoughts, but it’s only a temporary solution, as eventually something would need to be done. We cannot bury our regrets and doubts forever, they will eventually resurface in your our minds, and the longer we wait, the harder it will be to deal with.
Seek professional help in order to find closure on what ever your personal demons might be.  Help yourself move forward, you are not perfect, just human.  We all face difficulties in our lives; no matter if we are rich or poor, young or old, female or male.

Life will make it difficult at times so we can learn something through the experience, but that’s to enable us to move onto our next chapter – so be patient, find the strength and don’t be too hard on yourself.

“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one”  - Bruce Lee -

Unfortunately many can't see their way out of their mindset and situation.  They reach out for extreme alternatives to escape it all, and it often doesn't end very well. These people have simply lost hope. No situation is hopeless; your will and determination to overcome your doubts and fears will guide you, it is an inside job. Believe that you can turn things around, because no one can do it for you. 

Here’s a little secret, the mind can only hold one thought at the time so when a negative thought enters your mind, start doing something else, distract yourself; watch a comedy, read a book, call a friend, play upbeat music, temporary distractions are the glue between now and the time you gain control of your mind.

“There is no such thing as a hopeless situation. Every single circumstances of your life can change!” - Rhonda Byrne -  

Many people experience the same feelings and fears. Our mind will sometime tell us lies, where as our heart and guts cannot lie or be corrupted. That’s why it hurts so much when we don’t listen to either; neurologists have proven that when it comes to our moods, decisions and behaviour, the brain in our head is not the only one doing the thinking but our guts too (our second brain). 

- We are born with only two fears, the fear of falling and the fear of loud noise. Any other fears were acquired through life experiences. - 

Don’t let your problems and your way of coping with negative thoughts dictate how you live your life.  Don’t bury what is evident to you.  Remove it, or deal with it, as you will be missing out on an amazing life.  If you decide to let go of what you can’t control, you will instantly be a happier person, that includes family, other people’s judgements, what tomorrow will bring, how long you’ll live; basically anything you have no control over – Let it all go.

IF THERE IS A PROBLEM, THERE IS A SOLUTION; IF THERE IS NO SOLUTION, THERE IS NO PROBLEM.

READ NEXT: Honesty

LUCKY LUCK

“You are so lucky!” - I hear this all the time. Are you lucky or, is it more about making your own luck? 

The only time people are lucky is when they win something like the lottery or a competition. Even then they have made their luck; after all you have to be in it to win it. So, they tried their luck and they got lucky!

" The best luck of all is the luck you make for yourself". - Douglas MacArthur -

People that are rich and famous have also made their own luck. They've put themselves out there, networked to the right people, worked hard, risked everything and persevered to realise what they visualised in their dreams. We call them lucky but it isn't luck!

Who is the luckiest out of these two? Peter, who is walking with his head down consumed by his own thoughts; or Frank, who is walking with a clear mind and aware of his surroundings. 

The scene: Some money is lying on the pavement. Peter walks right past it and misses out on a little extra cash from our friend luck, but Frank sees it and picks it up. Regrettably for Peter he could say “I’m so unlucky” as much as he likes, but he could have been as lucky as Frank but he decide to ignore the opportunity given to him.

There is one real truth about luck; it’s something you are born with. Someone will definitely start luckier than you but it doesn’t mean they’ll increase their luck any further. 

"Diligence is the mother of good luck". 
- Benjamin Franklin -

Many started poor but have become wealthy; others were born in a family that didn't value education so they've educated themselves; some people simply managed to turn sadness into happiness.

It’s not just luck but the burning desire to become lucky, to attract luck; you have to be on the “I’m lucky” frequency, as “I’m so unlucky” will be self-fulfilling.

Are you lucky? Whatever your answer, it will be true for you. BE LUCKY!