Creating Positive Habits

Some habits do not upset us, but others can cause irritation, frustration
and desperation. We want to rid ourselves of them: but how?

When we look at the creation and fulfillment of thoughts, it looks like a
closed system: the thoughts lead to actions, the actions create a series of
impressions (sanskars), and these impressions are responsible for similar
thoughts, which lead us to similar actions, this is a vicious cycle.

If we want to change a habit, then where do we start? In other words, where
do we change the system or how do we get out of the cycle? First of all, we
can try changing our negative actions: for example, stop a negative habit
like smoking. In many cases, although we change our behaviour, but because
we have not understood deeply why we wanted to do it, is quite possible that
one day we will go back to this old habit.

We can try changing this system in our subconscious. By analysing what is
recorded in our subconscious, through different therapies, the results are
not altogether satisfactory. There is always some traumatic event, or
painful experience behind a fear which causes us to cling on to a negative
habit. And although we can see and recognise our fears and anxieties, if we
do not replace them with something better, with a more beneficial and
healthier alternative, very often we will feel tempted to cling on to these
old systems, even though they do not work and they make us unhappy. To
eliminate certain things we have recorded in our subconscious, meditation
and silence are the most effect non-violent methods.A

Another method is to try and change our beliefs with positive affirmations
(thoughts) that strengthen our willpower, and thus introduce a new habit to
replace the old one. It is vital not to repeat this affirmation
mechanically, but to introduce it into the system of beliefs we hold, and
act as if we already were what we express in this affirmation.

Meditation On Experiencing My Original Loveful Nature

I sit in silence, letting my thoughts go away from the outer world... I
allow my mind to relax... to calm down... I focus my attention on the heart
of my being... My heart is like a sacred silent place where I can feel what
I really am... I am peaceful and light... a loving soul... strong...
secure... kind...

I have many virtues and qualities that I can share with others... Now my
attention is going towards the quality of love... I imagine love like a seed
in my heart waiting to awaken... grow... and blossom... like a rose... For
this, I only have to accept... believe... feel... that I am a soul full of
love... child of the Ocean of Love… a sparkling conscient star situated at
the center of the forehead… I am a spiritual rose flower... radiating the
spiritual fragrance of love…
Letting go of the past... letting go of expectations... fears... negative
feelings... forgiving... opening my heart... feeling that it is cleansed and
this energy of love is as pure as the clean water flowing from a waterfall.
Nothing and nobody have touched it... this is a love that asks for nothing
in exchange... the love of a clean heart is unselfish... free of ego and
expectations... It makes truth and sincerity grow... acceptance and
understanding... I open my heart completely to love... I inhale deeply... I
visualize my heart filling itself with this energy of pure love... I exhale
slowly... and I visualize radiating this light of love from the deepest part
of my heart towards the world... I am a beautiful soul of light radiating
peace and love... I am love... I love myself and accept myself and others...

What Is Instinct?

Every baby has some tendency or another from the moment of birth, tendencies
formed by past thoughts and actions. The soul does not inherit tendencies
genetically. All that is transferred genetically is the physical appearance,
the colour of eyes, shape of nose etc. There is a certain amount of
influence acquired in the new situation, e.g. for a child we might say - "He
has his father's bad temper". The fact that the soul was born into that
family to payoff its accounts one way or the other, indicates that the soul
has performed similar actions in a previous birth. That someone has a fear
of heights, someone else a fear of being enclosed, indicates that they had
suffered from similar experiences in a previous birth. The soul's desire for
peace and happiness may be termed as "instinctive" but is certainly not
biological.

The Location Of The Soul Inside The Body

The soul has the following basic functions to perform:
To give life to the body and to maintain life inside it.
To express and experience its role through the body,             and
To receive the rewards or fruits of past actions performed in
previous births, through the body.

These functions are controlled and monitored by the soul via the nervous
and hormonal systems from a particular point in the area of the brain which
contains the thalamus, hypothalamus, pituitary and pineal glands. This
region is known as the seat of the soul, or the "third eye". The connection
between the physical (body) and the non-physical (soul) is by the medium of
thought energy. Many religions and philosophies place great importance on
the third eye, or "eye of the mind". When viewed from the front, this region
appears to be between and slightly above the line of the eyebrows. It's for
this reason that Hindus use a "tilak", a dot in red or sandalwood paste in
the middle of the forehead. Christians also make the sign of the cross in
this region. Even when one makes a mistake or expresses tiredness it's to
this region that we put the hands in the gestures of self-dismay or
exhaustion. After all the soul subconsciously knows that it makes the
mistakes and not the body. When people are concentrating deeply in thought
it is this area of the forehead where creases or lines are formed on the
skin. 

What Are Some Of The Benefits Of Positive Thinking On The Mind?

   - You are more creative.
   - You think more clearly.
   - You strengthen your ability to concentrate on quality thoughts that in
   turn produce good feelings.
   - You acquire more self-respect and respect towards others.
   - You generate the ability of self-control and strength in difficult
   situations.
   - You overcome pressures and worries more easily.
   - You experience peace, calm, serenity and happiness.

Crossing Negative Circumstances/Situations

There are periods of life in which it seems to us that there is someone or
something who gets in the way of our path. Circumstances, instead of going
in our favor, go against us. They are barriers that make it difficult for us
to reach our objectives; they are interruptions that prevent us from feeling
satisfied; they are situations that seem to reduce our feelings of success.

When we find ourselves with these scenes that appear to block our progress
towards the aims and objectives that we have set out for ourselves, we tend
to have negative thoughts; we feel anger and rage, or we feel sad and
unenthusiastic, as if we don't have the strength to either overcome or
transform the situation. Rather it is the situation that overcomes or
overpowers us and leaves us exhausted. Some people are not prepared for this
to happen and put all their strength into fighting the situation. They do so
with feelings of anger, revenge and injustice. Often it becomes a process
that wastes their energies and leaves them exhausted, without achieving a
true solution.

It is possible to live through situations without them causing such an
emotional energy loss. That does not mean that we become cold and
insensitive to what happens around us. *It is a question of living through
situations without drowning into them. If we drown ourselves in them we
won't be able to help others or ourselves. *We will be lost, like the
shipwrecked, at the mercy of the waves, the tides and the winds. We will
have lost the control of the steering wheel of our ship – our life.
The challenge lies in knowing what the strategy is to learn to live through
negative situations without allowing them to influence our emotional and
mental state.

*In order to achieve that, in the first place, we should change our
interpretation. Instead of interpreting the situation as an obstruction,
interference or barrier to our path, we need to change our perception. We
can ask ourselves questions like: What has this situation taught me? What
does it say to me? Remain detached, observe and listen before reacting
immediately. From detachment, observation and listening we can have a more
practical and wider perception.*

*We are the creators of our realities.* Reality, in itself, does not create
for us stress, pain or unhappiness. It is our way of looking and
interpretation of reality that brings about these reactions. Therefore, we
have to review how we perceive situations and with what beliefs we interpret
and judge them. Reinterpreting the situation, the concrete reality, implies
allowing the old perception to die in order to make room for a new vision.
Without the old dying, the new cannot be built correctly.

Instead of seeing people or situations as obstacles on the path, we can see
them as opportunities to practice patience and tolerance, to know how to
listen, thank and love. They allow us to widen our capacity to co-operate
and enlarge our heart so that we might be more generous.

In order to have a wider perception and not to drown in any negative
situation i.e. not to get affected by it, you can position yourself in a
positive way. *Instead of losing respect for the self and developing a
negative consciousness,* *if you make your consciousness positive and
stabilize yourself in respect towards yourself, in maintaining your positive
and powerful self-esteem and a healthy distance (not necessarily physical
distance, but rather by not letting the situation absorb you), you will be
able to have an eagle's vision. From above, everything looks smaller. It is
easier to get over something small. You can. “I am a victorious soul” or “I
am a destroyer of obstacles” are examples of positive consciousness.*

Whatever happens, it is important to always be aware that you create your
thoughts and you allow the situations to have greater or lesser impact
inside you, according to how you see them. *Learn to create thoughts full of
courage, trust and determination. Spirituality and the practice of
meditation helps you do just that. Those thoughts, charged with positive
energy, will help you to allow each situation to pass; to really overcome it
and leave it behind; for it not to remain alive in your thoughts or in your
memory.*
*With the power of a mind that creates thoughts full of good energy,
wherever you go, you will create a pleasant atmosphere.* Your vibrations
will create spaces full of beauty, love, trust and peacefulness; spaces
where all those who enter will remove their masks and will connect again
with their true self.