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A Must Read...

The Power of Now is terrific.
A few nights ago I couldn't get to sleep for worrying about some things I knew I needed to do but was putting off,
mainly from fear. After an hour of tossing and turning I told myself "I'll worry about all that tomorrow. Right now, I'll get to sleep." It worked and I slept the night through. The next morning I did both things I had worried about doing, and now they're behind me.

Living in the NOW is how to life.
 
I am listening to the book on audio download as per personal recommendation. Although I am enjoying the audio I find myself wishing I had the book too because I want to read and ponder many of the points Tolle makes.
 
What works well for me, whenever the ego gremlin starts whispering to to me that I need to be fearful, angry, or worry about something in my past or future, is to say to myself "I don't need to think about that now". Then just drop the thought.
 
chickenbone said:
What works well for me, whenever the ego gremlin starts whispering to to me that I need to be fearful, angry, or worry about something in my past or future, is to say to myself "I don't need to think about that now". Then just drop the thought.
Click to expand...
Thanks for expressing this so clearly, Chickenbone.

What you wrote gets to the heart of a misconception I had about mindfulness. At first, I thought that being mindful of my emotions was something that required a special effort to be "extra" mindful of the emotions. I no longer believe this to be the case. Rather, the train metaphor from Breaking the Pain Cycle by @Alan Gordon, comes to mind: "I’ve heard Buddhist monks make the following analogy: a thought is like a train pulling into the station. You can either jump on board the train and let it take you somewhere else, or you can watch the train as it passes you by." I think that what you describe is exactly what Alan is talking about. You are mindful of what the ego gremlin is whispering and mindful that the ego gremlin is, as I would put it, a learned nerve pathway, from childhood or other experience, that needs to gently and respectfully be put to sleep. Moving on allows you to focus on what is beautiful and life-affirming in your life. Then those nerve pathways get stronger. The wolf of beauty and joy is the one that we want to feed.

Anyway, that's my take on it. If your take varies, I'd love to hear that, too.

yb44 said:
I am listening to the book on audio download as per personal recommendation. Although I am enjoying the audio I find myself wishing I had the book too because I want to read and ponder many of the points Tolle makes.
Click to expand...
I often feel the same way. Because of this, I often buy the kindle version as a complement to the audiobook and reread my favorite parts on my phone or my PC.
 
Forest, I love your suggestion to focus on what is beautiful and life-affirming in our life.

For me, those include the people I love and who love me,
and the places I've been that gave me joy... the northwoods Minnesota-Ontario wilderness
canoe trips I've taken, the Frisbee tossing with a friend in Lake Michigan, the evenings
sitting on a porch talking to a great friend. The walks and play times with my darling dogs.
Hugs from family and friends.
 
Excellent, Walt, I can really relate to what you are saying.

I agree totally with what you said, Forrest. It took me so long to get the idea of what mindfullness really meant. I had several misconceptions. Of course, there were parts of my mind that fought this understanding. I can so clearly see now why I had pain. My mind insisted on constantly reminding me about all the mistakes I made in the past, as well as all the awful obstacles I would face in the future, so everyday I had to deal with it all. And of course, with this mindset, I was not dealing effectively with what was immediately in front of me, which of course had implications for the future. I now understand that all I have to deal with is what is right in front of me. It was like what you described in previous posts, the inner terrorist and critic. We really need to stop doing this to ourselves. Only then can we focus on what is good in our lives.
 
chickenbone said:
What works well for me, whenever the ego gremlin starts whispering to to me that I need to be fearful, angry, or worry about something in my past or future, is to say to myself "I don't need to think about that now". Then just drop the thought.
Click to expand...
I love the term "ego gremlin". :D
 
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