As it is customary, the New Year starts with resolutions for the betterment of one’s self. Some declare to pursue a change in health, financial or relationship habits. However, a declaration means nothing unless there is a commitment to “Do” and to do, we must first “Be” and “Being” requires full awareness of the Self in the ‘present’; in the Now.
I believe that this is the best state within which to start your pursuit of the kind of change that is likely to last. For many, lasting change is very difficult to achieve and I believe it is because attaining many things in life is much easier than making the commitment to actually attain them.
Fear can be a powerful negative factor interfering with the mind’s ability to commit. That being so, perhaps we should think of the Mind as being the originator and exterminator of habits without considering what particular external expression of a habit we may wish to start, continue or quit. As simple as it may be, this is not easy to do because it, too, requires the forming of a new habit or “practice of awareness”.
For the purpose of this article, I call this new practice, “The Master Habit”. This, though not a habit per se, is simply, “the being mindful and fully aware as we are and as everything is, without judgment”.
Over time, this practice empowers us with the ease to start, continue or quit whatever behavior we choose to change. It matters not when the resolution is made. So, you don’t have to wait until the beginning of a New Year. The Master Habit is a ‘one-time’ any time ‘fits-all-mind’ proposition.
To start the Master Habit, the first thing you will need to do, is to learn to Slow Down to a pace that allows you, from time to time, for moments at a time, to be still and alone; just you, your breath and your thoughts. This is when you are most in control and best able to focus on your own “Being”. This is the essence of the Master Habit, and having practiced regularly for some time now, today I am less distracted, more mindful about “Being” in the ‘present’ and I am more in control and able to pace myself better. What would this be like for you? My experience has been that making changes in my life is now easier than it otherwise would be.
It is almost impossible to change your life in any significant or lasting way when your mind is, too often, in a hurry shifting back and forth from thoughts of the past, present and future, and racing on a mindless track paved with constant distractions. It is impossible to start or quit, much less maintain any change when you keep missing the “Present”. This is what speed and distraction does.
The way of the Master Habit is the quieting and slowing down of the Mind so that you may be able to better focus on thoughts that may help you to refrain from the external expression of the habit you want to change. Being “Present Minded” and as you are…Now, is key.
Realize that “Now”, is that constant instant between the past and the future, and that it is the only ‘time’ we live and the only ‘time’ we can do something about almost anything. Now, is always a good time to start the Master Habit.
I recently talked at the Phoenix Center for healing, here in Miami. In my Talk I do not refer to the idea as the Master Habit. I refer to it as, “Mindfulness” or “Being Mindful”.
Especially to those who ‘believe’ they do not have the time, I invite you to watch and listen to the Talk. I believe you will find that it is an idea worth trying and sharing. Here is the Talk:
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