Minimalism has been a fashionable trend lately. Many blogs, youtube channels, and websites capitalize on the wave of interest in simplifying our extremely complex lives. I like it. I hope more and more people realize the value of restraint. Especially in the material sphere. For me, personally, minimalism is about efficiency, optimization, and contentment. We own too much, eat too much, stress out too much, worry too much etc. How do we eat just enough? Own no more than we need? Work or exercise in an optimal way? Of course, there is no one, simple answer to these questions but the very fact that we start asking them can potentially lead us in the right direction. We all have the responsibility of looking into ourselves and learning about our real needs, about how we can function in the best possible way, about our natural inclinations. When we begin to get rid of clutter in our lives and by clutter I don’t mean only the stuff that we own but also negative people we spend too much time with, old habits that lower our quality of life, thinking patterns that cater to experiences from the past that are no longer applicable etc etc, – only then we have a chance to see clearly what holds real importance to us. What gives us a long lasting satisfaction and contentment. What it means to be happy. ...
Use it or lose it!
Maintaining health is similar to riding a bike. You cannot ride a bike and then just stop and expect you will maintain balance. The moment we stop moving our balance is compromised. The moment we stop practicing healthy habits, our health, sometimes unnoticeably, starts declining. The moment we stop using our muscles – they start getting weaker and weaker. The moment we stop stretching – we start getting tighter and begin losing our mobility. The moment we stop making a mental effort to remember, to create solutions, to recognize and react – our mental capabilities’ decline begins. The main weapon we have to prevent this from happening or at the very least, to slow it down, is our effort to continue performing or maybe even improving our ability to perform various actions so that we maintain this ability as long as possible. WE DO TO BE. Idle pleasures like watching television or playing computer games, while ok in small doses, can quickly turn into “preferable” way of spending time, developing strongly addictive habits that do not challenge our mental or physical capabilities, thus contributing to the decrease of our well being. The gradual limiting of our social interactions, relying on patterns and solutions that we are very comfortable with, even practicing the very same practices without seeking improvement can and frequently does bring a slow decline. Is it only because we are getting “older”? Or is it because we are getting lazy? If we look at examples of those in later stages of their lives, who continue working in their field, studying, practicing, researching, it is easy to notice that their abilities do not correspond to their chronological age. In a positive sense. One more reason not to stop DOING! ...
Accepting life’s changes.
I am extremely grateful for my teachers, my wife, my family, and friends and all my life’s experiences that have led me to this moment. I can not imagine being able to be who I am without them all. It is a challenging time for me now. My dearest mother’s ability to take care of herself is slowly decreasing. Just like I needed her for a big part of my life, she needs me now. The choice is not difficult. I need to be here for her. Traveling or not – makes not much difference. My practice continues in the place where it is needed the most. Surprisingly, I am comfortable with this change. Life continues to amaze and surprise me. In a good way. Thank you all who’ve helped me to get to this place. ...
A simple thing to remember.
How many times a day do we expect something from our children, spouse, family, friends, coworkers, bosses, or the world in general?! How many times we are deeply disappointed when our expectations are not fulfilled right away?! I want my partner to be like this. I want my children to behave like this. I want people to be like this. The question is: what do I give? What is My behavior? How can I expect something from others when not doing it myself?! It is not a difficult concept. The consequences of its applications are remarkable though. It doesn’t mean that the world will automatically follow your lead. However your understanding of others can vastly improve. Try it. Before you look for purity in someone else – first find it in yourself! Before you look for kindness in someone else – first find it in yourself! Before you look for understanding from someone else – first find it in yourself! Before you look for generosity in someone else – first find it in yourself! Before you look for selflessness in someone else – first find it in yourself! Etc etc. to be used daily ...
Relativity of perception. Challenges and opportunities.
It is often difficult to call something “positive” or “negative”. What we call bad is frequently the result of misunderstanding and not following the natural order of things which results in what we generally refer to as ” negative” occurrences. For example: “bad weather”, rain, being tired, cold etc. Complaining about it is like complaining about the fact that we have to breathe. Without these things we simply wouldn’t be able to survive. Imagine that it is sunny and warm all the time. Without rain, the area could quickly turn into a dry, hot desert. What if we don’t do any physical work? We would end up with a weak and underdeveloped body. If we always insulate ourselves from the environment, trying to maintain a comfortable temperature all the time, any sudden change becomes too much for our immune system and we get ill very easily. How come we do not appreciate the gifts of life given to us everyday!? The”bad” or “negative” is nothing but our perception of a lack of harmony, being out of sync with God, Tao, our Inner Voice, our True Nature etc. What do you see around you? Good or bad? Positive or negative? Do you understand why difficulties happen in your life? Do you take advantage of these challenges to work on your own strengths and weaknesses? ...
Hiding in Tao.
When we follow the Tao/God/our True Nature/ Inner Voice… and manage to let go of our ego, even for a moment, Everything becomes easier. There is no longer a need to worry about anything. Everything is the way it is supposed to be. We know our place on earth. Here. We know why we are here. Because. We know what to do. Whatever needs to be done. We don’t even ask ourselves these questions anymore. Empty mind. Happy heart. Joyful smile. When our energy level goes down. When our mood is low. Hide in positive. Hide in good. Hide in love. Hide in Tao. There is no space for anything else when you’re full of love. Blue sky. Sunshine mind. ...
Get yourself unstuck
This morning I was sitting and drinking my hot lemon water. It was still a bit dark outside as I was looking out of the window, enjoying the moment of quiet contentment. I looked at the window sill that had something on it that I could not recognize. A shape of an object I could not identify. Intrigued I was staring at it and straining my mind to no avail. I just couldn’t figure out what it was. It was too dark in the room and my brain couldn’t make out anything out of it. I decided to shift my body to the left and right, providing my vision with a slightly different angle and an enhanced depth perception. It took seconds for me to realize I was looking at a half opened, glossy book reflecting the window light outside. It seemed so obvious and simple that I couldn’t understand how I had not seen it a minute ago. Sometimes when we are stuck, we need to change the angle a little bit, change the perspective on the situation we are having difficulty with. It is like looking at something from the distance. I look and I don’t know what I am looking at. What is it? No recognition. The brain is trying to process it, to remember but it can’t. It is stuck. In order to move on, I need to adjust, to change my way of looking at it, interpreting it. Sometimes all it takes is taking a couple of steps to the side, climbing a little higher or stooping down. Suddenly we realize what it is we are looking at and we marvel at our inability to see it just a moment ago. When stuck – change something. It doesn’t have to be a big change. You are not trying to completely change the situation. Just your way of looking at it and understanding it. Practice it on small things in your life first. Small challenges are your great chance to train and develop the ability to find solutions. ...
Every day is a test.
Whether one is a lawyer, doctor, worker in the factory or an artist, black or white, poor or rich it is of little consequence for the level of happiness that can be experienced by that person. It only determines the kinds of challenges our soul/personality/character will face in the course of one’s life. Challenges and difficulties that have a potential to shape the essence of what we consider our core being. How do you choose to react to your daily tests? Do you realize that you have a choice whether you react one way or another? Do you know that you can train these reactions?! What you practice is what you develop! We don’t want to concentrate on what we don’t want to do or be. We want to concentrate on what we want to do or be. It doesn’t matter that you can’t do this or that. The very act of trying activates our body and mind in the ways we cannot perceive yet but already significantly changing our reality. ...
Now is all we have.
We tend to worry, consciously or unconsciously almost all the time. When we’re in a “good place”, we worry it might end soon, when we’re in a “bad place” we worry it will never end. When we have stability we worry about instability. When we have instability we still worry about it. We spend a lot of time in the past, future and inside our imaginary world that never actually happens. In the meantime we are missing almost everything that is. Here and now. We forget to appreciate. We are unable to notice the good and beautiful. Our time slips away unnoticed and the imagined moment of happiness gets pushed further away again and again. The moment we turn our attention to the present moment the possibility to find contentment opens up. Just by observing what is, without emotional or intellectual involvement we begin to perceive the magic of our everyday existence. The precious little moments of joy and wonder. The appreciation for what we have. The great satisfaction from sharing and giving. Do you remember to be here and now? Slow down. Take a deep breath. Release all the tension. Appreciate this moment. Smile. ...
