Enlightenment-Taming Your Wild Elephant

By Traci Vincent | Published July 31, 2011

iStock_000000985714XSmallMindfulness and enlightenment are two words that have become more frequently talked about in magazines, books, seminars, and on the internet.  People are searching to discover the power of mindfulness to improve their health, relationships, and careers.

In her book, How To Train A Wild Elephant, Jan Chozen Bays, MD, provides many mindfulness exercises and tells how over many years, the Buddha developed and cultivated many aspects of the mind and observed that his mind became more concentrated, purified, bright, malleable, rid of imperfections and imperturbable.  As we practice mindfulness, we too can learn to lift the mind up and out of its habitual patterns and preoccupations and set it in a place of our choosing to illuminate a particular aspect of our life.  It is possible to train the mind to be powerful and flexible as well as focused.

The Buddha compares this process to that of taming a wild elephant.  Just as an untamed elephant is destructive and able to injure people and damage the landscape, so too can our untamed mind harms us and those around us.  The human mind has so much more power and capacity than we realize and comprehend.  Mindfulness is a powerful tool to train the mind and access its true potential for creativity, wisdom and even kindness.

Again as a wild elephant has many wild habits whereby it attacks when frightened and runs away as a human approaches, so too our mind is also very similar.  When we sense danger, we run away from the present  toward either fantasy, revenge, or numbness.  When we feel frightened, we often attack outwardly in an angry outburst or inwardly in toxic self-criticism.

In ancient times, elephants were trained to go into battle and follow commands amidst the chaos of war.  We too can train our mind through mindfulness to remain calm and steady as we encounter the inevitable challenges and difficulties that life brings.  With practice, we stop running from problems and begin to see them as a way to strengthen our mental and physical stability.  Practicing mindfulness uncovers our conditioned and habitual patterns of escape and enables us to try on a new way of being in life.  This new way of being is resting our awareness in the actual events of the present moment using all of our senses.  We begin to stabilize the heart and mind so that they are not tossed about as the winds of life change.  We become interested in everything that happens and learn from adversity.

As we replace fear and anxiety with mindfulness, we uncover resourcefulness, courage and inner happiness.  This is accomplished by temporarily dropping those fearful thoughts and redirecting them to awareness.  This awareness allows us to stay present and open during unpleasant situations.  These circumstances then lose their power to cause us to react, become frightened or flee.

Here are a few examples of mindfulness practice:

  • As many times as possible a day, give your mind a short rest for the duration of three breaths and ask the inner noise to be silent. Then open all your senses and just be aware.
  • Stop throughout the day and consciously ask yourself “Is there anything I can appreciate right now?”
  • Engage in secret acts of virtue or kindness.  Do something nice or needed for others anonymously.

Using these and other mindfulness exercises will help make small shifts each week to improve the strength, stability and calmness in the mind.

Don’t let your mind be a wild elephant now that you know how to begin to train it.

Traci Vincent

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Change the World with MorningCoach.com

By Luis Rosario | Published July 31, 2011

August is “Change The World” month

Join MorningCoach.com in changing the world for the better, help make a positive difference in someones life by passing daily gift of MorningCoach.com.

How it works:

Help us spread the positive energy, and love that is truly needed throughout the world today. You can really play an important role in changing the world for the better!

Spread the word and get a month free!

_____________________________________________________________

Must be a current active MorningCoach.com member in order to receive credit for promotion.
Person will not be counted as a referral until they have paid for their initial membership. Free trial sign up does not count.
One month of free MorningCoach per each referral, up to 3 referrals.
Referral must input full name of the person whom they were referred by.
Rules:

1. Must be a current active MorningCoach.com member in order to receive credit for promotion.

2. Person will not be counted as a referral until they have paid for their initial membership. Free trial sign up does not count.

3. One month of free MorningCoach per each referral, for as many referrals you and refer the more the merrier.

4. Referral must input full name of the person whom they were referred by.

5. This promotion is only limited to the month of August 2011.

For any questions or concerns please feel free to Contact Us.

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Do you have a Bucket List?

By sandralongmore | Published July 29, 2011

Bucket List

Bucket List

“I saw my Dad kick the bucket”

I felt this was his final message to me after he had left this world and entered the next.  I had closed my eyes and ask for a message and in my minds eye I saw my Dad kick a bucket.  Everyone was so sad and so was I but the message was not one of sadness but humor and now as I think of Dad and his parting message and the class I finished this summer I have a smile on my face because I have found out the making a bucket list is a way of bring wonderful adventure into your life

I am thinking of this concept of the bucket from another angle today adding deeper learning to my consciousness.  I have just finished a class by Joyce Schwarz, called “LIVE YOUR BUCKET LIST SUMMER 2011”.  Joyce is a best selling author and speaker and has written “The Vision Board Book that was on the #1 Bestseller list for Amazon for 26 weeks and is the founer of The Vision Board Institute in Marina Del Rey, California.

Schwarz says, “My LIVE YOUR BUCKET LIST class takes a new spin on the exercise because it encourages you to add images to your wish list of activities. This way it complements your Vision Board and other life planning techniques by empowering you to see your future NOW! Plus it’s more fun our way–to picture you sky diving or standing by the pyramids.”

In the class we were to list 10 things that we would like to do this summer.  We were encouraged to suspend disbelief, reach for the moon and compile the list.

The bucket list concept has been around for a long time But was brought more to our consciousness in 2008 by Rob Reiner’s comedy-drama film “The Bucket List” starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.  The main plot reveals an adventurous road trip by the two with a wish list of things to do before they “kick the bucket”.  The movie ends with the last item being crossed off the list, as their ashes lay high in the Himalaya Ian Mountains.  That item was “witness something truly majestic”.

Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done. Louis D. Brandeis

In compiling my list I found myself listing unexpected items.  One such item was travel to exotic places.  This way of thinking brought out an adventurous spirit of all that is possible.  I felt like Tinker Bell when she said, “I can fly, I can fly”.  I also realized that many items reflected what I was experiencing in my coaching business.  I realized that I thought of my business as having as much fun as traveling to exotic places.

The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss, but that it is too low and we reach it. Michelangelo

I have a deep satisfied smile on my face as I write this as I remember the answer to another question asked to a mentor, which I highly value.  The question was, “What teaching should I take with me where ever I go”.  His answer “Be Happy”.

Today I feel the wisdom of his words.  I am truly happy in this moment, writing this bog post.  My heart is full of memories that feed lofty thoughts.  My stomach feels warm in side as I sip my skinny Carmel macchiato.  My eyes filled with the scene around me in Boarders Book Store of others deeply engaged in conversation, reading a book, or typing on their computers.  Magic and fulfillment comes moment by moment and by realizing happiness is in the excitement of anticipation and experiencing.  The anticipation of the next new idea as it bubbles forth and the happy satisfaction of witnessing something truly majestic, this beautiful now moment.

Sandra Longmore is a Creative Visionary Coach, writer, teacher, artist, and creative thinker whom are dedicated to the very best of life with enthusiasm, energy and expectancy.

Sandra is committed to sharing her vitality through coaching others to a life of becoming remarkable through personal evolution as a member of MorningCoach Coaching Certification Program and serves on the Advisory Board.  Connect with Sandra online!  Share your thoughts or follow her journey She would love hearing from you!

Sandralongmore.com

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PITY PARTY

By Leslie Brice | Published July 29, 2011

Not too long ago I saw a facetious invitation to a “pity party” over Facebook from a friend of mine. At that time, I replied, with, “What can I bring?”  Others replied with words of encouragement as well as some other silly comments.  The next day, out of the blue, something unforeseen and rather undetectable got underneath my craw.  It was like I had just picked a Go-Straight-to-Jail-Do-Not-Pass-Go-Do-Not-Collect-$100 card on the board game of life.  I hate when that happens!!  I felt I hadjust lost all the positive progress I had made all in one fell swoop.

iStock_000016637249XSmallAs I was conversing, or really “letting it all out”, with one of my friends on my way to “jail”, via the detour around start, I was trying to figure out the reason behind my upheaval. Why was I so agitated, and even more importantly, why was I ALLOWING myself to become so agitated?   I know better!  I teach this stuff for goodness sake!  I decided I would just observe it for what it was, relax and allow it to pass, which it did, but it got me thinking…

We all have our little moments from time to time that throw us out of whack, wreaking havoc on our emotions and confusing the heck out of our normal rational thinking. When that happens, it is usually because we are thinking with our emotions, or feelings, instead of with our brains.  If we can’t seem to shake it on our own, and don’t have the benefit of a coach, maybe a pity party is exactly what the doctor should order.  HOWEVER, instead of bringing pity, our friends could bring some fun, love, snacks, a new perspective from which to choose, and maybe, a wet noodle in which to beat us for our self-destructive behavior.  :)  What better way to get back on track than with our friends and a little humor!!!

In order to host a pity party, however, you will have to admit something is wrong. I see many people who lead closed lives because they are afraid to reveal that they are human, have weaknesses, have the need for growth and could possibly benefit from being open to new ideas.  Sometimes people are wrapped up in worrying about what others might think of them or wanting their “business” to be private.  I say, who cares!!  I know we all have more important things to focus on rather than what others are thinking.  Why should we care if anyone knows our financial status?  Why do we worry about what brand of clothes we wear?  Why do we fret about people knowing our past, something we can’t change?   Our material things do not define us.  Our past is just that – our P-A-S-T.  The power is in the NOW.  That is all we can control.  We can control giving help when we can and asking for help when we need it.

Realizing we are not alone in this game of life and allowing ourselves to be trusting and transparent enough to reach out for help can be very beneficial. Why suffer in silence when allowing your vulnerability to show by reaching out for help can deliver relief either from illuminating a new way in which to see the situation or just breaking the bonds that tie you into your mood with a little companionship and/or some comic relief?  The thing is, the more we concentrate on the problem, the bigger our problem becomes.  Either concentrate on a solution, or change your concentration all together.  If you choose the later, you might as well have fun with it and throw yourself a PITY PARTY and let me know what I can bring!

LeslieBrice_094(resize)

Leslie Brice is a certified Life Coach and founder of Pathway to Passion and Purpose.  She specializes in working with women who are going through a life transition by supporting and empowering them to move in a positive, forward direction through realization of their passions, purpose and infinite potential.  She is also working with JB Glossinger and morningcoach.com to keep people improving 1% a day.

Pathway to Passion and Purpose ; leslie@pathwaytopassionandpurpose.com

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The Wealth Mindset

By JB Glossinger | Published July 27, 2011

Every day thousands of people get caught up in lack conditioning and spend time worrying about their financial situation. Getting your mind right,Prosperity Conceptlearning new skill sets, and new experiences is what will get you out of worry and take you over the top. It all starts with a prosperity mindset.

Energy, Inspiration, and Momentum

I love internet marketing because it allows me to build the freedom to do what I want to do in my life. Every day, I find joy in learning, sharing my expertise, and being continuously involved in new developments. Speaking to people, teaching people, and giving people energy is doing what I love.

Having the ability to do all of the things I do comes from my mindset. When I wake up in the morning, I look at my goals and get myself thinking about prosperity. I understand that it is there for me, that the universe is unlimited, and that the tools will come to me. I am building that faith.

As I move on through my day, I continue working with prosperity in mind. I look at my moleskin notebook, find the big reasons why, and read prosperity books when I have the opportunity. I also take prosperity courses in the morning or when I have a 30 or 60-minute segment of time, and listen to subliminals. I’m constantly getting energy and information about prosperity, success, and moving forward. This constant awareness and practice is bringing more of that energy into my life.

Prosperity Mindset

Hold on to the prosperity mindset today. Be a money magnet. When you find money, celebrate. When you find freedom, celebrate. When you have days off, celebrate. Keep prosperity in mind and more will come. It starts with belief.

Believe you are a miracle. Believe that you have the ability to manifest. Believe that you have prosperity consciousness. Give when you get value. Pay for services. Try to find ways to offer something. The more you give, the more you will receive. That is one of the powerful rules of prosperity. If you are always worried that you won’t have enough, you will never give, and you will never get the cycle working for you. The cycle of abundance will stop from having a lack mentality.

Believe when there is no belief left. Have confidence that you will be okay. You need to get organized and make a game plan. Journal your progress and watch your daily one percent improvement turn into exponential growth. This will make your life dynamic. Get involved. Make a difference. Be the beacon of light and keep the prosperity in mind.

JB Glossinger, MBA, Phd (in Metaphysics), is an internationally known visionary, speaker, author, coach, and consultant who is here to help you manifest what you want for your business, your organization, and your personal life. He is the founder of the worlds first personal evolution system MorningCoach.com based on the principles of self help, personal development, self improvement, and life coaching.

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