MIND and MASTERY: Taking on the dragons.
It’s apparent that the real power and control lie within the mind, not the body. It’s time to face the real source of our miseries, the dragons of the mind. If we don’t take control of the creative force we call the sensory mind, all the breathing and relaxation in the world wont keep the dragons from breathing fire and creating unhappiness. We saw in previously how the dragons of fear and self-hatred disturb the co-ordination between mind and body, which leads to stress. The greater cause of stress is fear. It sets off the fight-or-flight alarm response, and we worry ourselves to death. When we identify with all the hurts, mistakes, and disasters of the past, we react with the possum response and suffer from depression and guilt. This is the second greatest cause of stress. Many of us are quite capable of doing both at the same time. Because we are not skilled in using our inner resources, our habits dominate the mind and we become victims of our own misdirected creative forces.
When we use the sensory mind skillfully, we solve problems, create new possibilities, tap our instinctual knowledge, and bring balance and harmony into our lives. But left unmanaged, this creative force is disrupted by emotions, made by rigid habits, and limited through beliefs. Instead of visualizing solutions, we fantasize harm and failure.
We all know someone like Shirley, a middle-aged, very attractive and intelligent woman. She spends a great deal of emotional effort just trying to cope - not with the world, but with her own fears of rejection and thoughts about how stupid and unlovable she is. Sadly, like many others, Shirley had a difficult childhood. Her father was rejecting and cold, and her mother was incapable of providing the love and security every child needs. It’s easy to see how these early patterns of rejection created such strong feelings of fear and self-hatred. Shirley understands this, but this analysis doesn’t change the habits of her mind. She still accepts these early judgments that continue to play in her mind as her identity. Even though she practices relaxation and breathing exercises, she still feels fearful and unloved. Shirley must and can learn to distance herself from these habits locked in to her sensory mind. If she learns to quiet her mind and take control of her inner chatter, she can free herself from these old patterns.
To take command of the sensory mind, we must master four steps:
1. Stabilize our emotional reactions by taking charge of mind chatter. In this way, we cut the circuits to our past emotional reactions and redirect our emotional energies.
2. Carefully choose our language to create the realities we want and not waste time and energy on non-productive thinking and emotional reactions.
3. Develop effective strategies to eliminate fear and self-hatred. With the right techniques and practice, we can overcome our fears, clear mind and even in the face of conflict and attack.
4. Refine our perceptual sensitivity and develop our instincts to provide us with a better sense of timing and the ability to make more effective decisions.
It’s apparent that the real power and control lie within the mind, not the body. It’s time to face the real source of our miseries, the dragons of the mind. If we don’t take control of the creative force we call the sensory mind, all the breathing and relaxation in the world wont keep the dragons from breathing fire and creating unhappiness. We saw in previously how the dragons of fear and self-hatred disturb the co-ordination between mind and body, which leads to stress. The greater cause of stress is fear. It sets off the fight-or-flight alarm response, and we worry ourselves to death. When we identify with all the hurts, mistakes, and disasters of the past, we react with the possum response and suffer from depression and guilt. This is the second greatest cause of stress. Many of us are quite capable of doing both at the same time. Because we are not skilled in using our inner resources, our habits dominate the mind and we become victims of our own misdirected creative forces.
When we use the sensory mind skillfully, we solve problems, create new possibilities, tap our instinctual knowledge, and bring balance and harmony into our lives. But left unmanaged, this creative force is disrupted by emotions, made by rigid habits, and limited through beliefs. Instead of visualizing solutions, we fantasize harm and failure.
We all know someone like Shirley, a middle-aged, very attractive and intelligent woman. She spends a great deal of emotional effort just trying to cope - not with the world, but with her own fears of rejection and thoughts about how stupid and unlovable she is. Sadly, like many others, Shirley had a difficult childhood. Her father was rejecting and cold, and her mother was incapable of providing the love and security every child needs. It’s easy to see how these early patterns of rejection created such strong feelings of fear and self-hatred. Shirley understands this, but this analysis doesn’t change the habits of her mind. She still accepts these early judgments that continue to play in her mind as her identity. Even though she practices relaxation and breathing exercises, she still feels fearful and unloved. Shirley must and can learn to distance herself from these habits locked in to her sensory mind. If she learns to quiet her mind and take control of her inner chatter, she can free herself from these old patterns.
To take command of the sensory mind, we must master four steps:
1. Stabilize our emotional reactions by taking charge of mind chatter. In this way, we cut the circuits to our past emotional reactions and redirect our emotional energies.
2. Carefully choose our language to create the realities we want and not waste time and energy on non-productive thinking and emotional reactions.
3. Develop effective strategies to eliminate fear and self-hatred. With the right techniques and practice, we can overcome our fears, clear mind and even in the face of conflict and attack.
4. Refine our perceptual sensitivity and develop our instincts to provide us with a better sense of timing and the ability to make more effective decisions.
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