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Innate well-being
REST (adapted from WELL, getting real with physical and mental health)
In their book, Stealing Fire, Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal calculated that the industry of ‘shutting off the self’ is worth $4 trillion a year. It’s not surprising because the mind, lost in its own creations can be torture, it creates conflict, stress, disease and misery.
Of course, we would be driven to find ways to turn off that suffering. But without an understanding of what the mind really is, mind management is just a playing out of confusion.
The self exists as a thought or belief or as…
Work out what you are
[Excerpt from EASE, getting real with work]
To have the job of our wildest dreams, to do the work we are to do, to live from the freedom we really are, we have to be willing to get a bit clearer about reality.
Ready?
Ok, in the previous chapter we started with what we see around us. And the fact that nothing can be observed other than via perception. And everything that is brought to life in perception will change as perception changes and as understanding of the nature of perception changes.…
What is really needed?
[Excerpt from 'It's not you... and it's not me']
In the midst of our suffering, we have a skewed view of what is really needed. And the greater the suffering, the more skewed the need and the more desperate we are to get it.
It looked like I needed the man to make me feel valid and worthy. The only way he could do that would have been by convincing me how much he cared about me, how special I was…
Because then I would feel OK. My self-esteem would be intact. My view of the weekend I had ju…
Beyond Belief
[excerpt from SANE, getting real with reality]
In ancient Rome and Greece ‘aimless wandering’ was considered a form of madness. The ‘treatment’ was stoning and beating.
In mid 1800s America, the label ‘Dysaesthesia Aethiopica’ indicated that black men and women were incapable of living in freedom. The ‘treatment’ was slavery.
In the 1850s and 60s when train travel was becoming possible, it was believed that the shaking motion injured the brain, sending travellers mad. The ‘treatment’ was to s…
The Shift
One of my favourite books is ‘Conversations on Non-Duality, 26 Awakenings’ in which teachers and authors describe their process of realisation. Each has their own unique experience of a mind and belief system shifting, falling away or aligning to a deeper truth of being.
I call this the Shift.
There is nothing more fascinating to explore because it is the only access to lived reality.
There is nothing more significant for humanity because it marks the end of the handed down trauma of hu…
The desire for change
‘I’m not OK.’ ‘This isn’t OK.’ ‘I have to change.’ ‘This has to change.’ ‘I can’t bear how I feel.’ ‘This experience is awful.’
Ever had any of those thoughts?
If so, you and me both, and perhaps seven billion others…
In the moment of that thought there is a deluge of evidence as to why that thought is justified.
And it seems very bleak and hopeless indeed. It seems this self has to somehow find the way to change itself or its state of mind or its experience or the world.
And that can’t…
Making a difference - the missing chapter in the leadership books
One of the aims that comes up often in our courses is the wish to make a difference…
To be someone
To have impact
To change the world
To be known
To leave a legacy
To make our way into the history books
We could take this at face value…
Most books and courses on productivity, influence, courage, knowledge, experience, effectiveness, impact, vision, charisma, leadership and focus do just that.
They dive straight into the ‘how…?’ without pausing to question in any way the model of reality…
Understanding choices and behaviour
[Excerpt from the book SANE]
Self-control. Will power. Determination. Commitment. Dedication. Restraint. Mind over matter.
All ways of describing the power that this apparent self of ours has or should have over what this body does or does not do.
It looks like this control is not just possible, but necessary for every aspect of life.
To succeed, we have to persevere.
To be happy, we have to banish negative feelings.
To be in good shape, we have to resist the bad food and do the exercise.
…10 ways to tell you are living your true purpose
The importance of our individual purpose here on earth has been identified since the beginning of human thought. It is referred to as 'dharma' in the ancient Indian text the Bhagavad Gita and today it is recognised in the most respected human development research as the key to motivation and fulfilment.
Don't worry if you don't know your purpose.
The very fact that you are reading this is a sign that you are open to discovering it and that it will become clear to you. The following points …
All delusions are equal but some are more equal than others
[Excerpt from SANE, getting real with reality]
There are beliefs that look right because they seem to be endorsed or everyone seems to concur with them.
But apparent ‘rightness’ means nothing more than temporary agreement. All beliefs will eventually dissolve in the face of new information.
It wasn’t so long ago that the earth was flat. Bad smells caused disease. Diamond was the hardest substance. It was physically impossible to fold a piece of paper more than seven times and for something he…