Focus On What You Can Control

“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

— Marcus Aurelius   

Planet Earth is the home to billions of humans and animals – all with unique lives. 

There is a range of culture, government, lifestyles, careers, education, religion, etc. and there is not one correct way of doing it all. 

That’s the beauty of it all. 

But it becomes ugly when people start trying to control & manipulate other people; Trying to force their beliefs onto others because they think they’re right (or usually because they have more power than the others.) 

It happens all the time: one person or usually a group of people trying to control other groups & individuals… (abuse of power) 

Those people don’t realize that the real power comes from controlling your own mind – & not controlling other people (but those people will never understand that). 

Most people have never experienced the power that is within them – since they are distracted by the distractions & manipulations of the external world, politics, sports, work, getting in each others way, etc.  

and then the people become distracted, confused, angry, overwhelmed, annoyed, etc, and then they pass it on. 

But when you take control of your own mind – you gain energy and focus that others lose in trying to control others, since you aren’t doing that. 

The world becomes filled with opportunity & beauty.  

All because you gave up trying to control others & you focused entirely on controlling yourself.  

Meditation is a good place to begin. 

Life Is A Miracle

“Life is a miracle, and being aware of simply this can already make us very happy.”

— Thich Nhat Hahn  

Life is a miracle, but most people never experience the miracle of life. 

Or they experience the miracle of life when they’re young & lose it as they age & learn about the world.  

Be careful about what information you are ingesting into your mind. 

People love watching the news, yet what they see is awful things happening all around the world.  

You will never experience the miracle of life by watching the news.  

Walking in nature or meditating is a great place to begin. 

You won’t experience the miracle of life immediately, but with meditation practice & turning off the news, in time you will experience the miracle of life. 

To Be or To Do?

“We have a tendency to think in terms of doing and not in terms of being. We think that when we are not doing anything, we are wasting our time. 

But that is not true. Our time is first of all for us to be. 

To be what? To be alive, to be peaceful, to be joyful, to be loving. And that is what the world needs most.”

— Thich Nhat Hahn  

To be or to do? I say both. 

Let us always “be”, even as we do.  

Meditation is a wonderful place to cultivate “being”. 

This guide will get you started. 

YOU ARE IT!

“The discovery that the experiencer is the experience, is meditation.” 

— Jiddu Krishnamurti   

Two people can be sitting next to each other in the same room of a hundred people, watching a sports game & may experience completely different things. 

They are in the same environment. Surrounded by the same people. 

Watching the same game.  

Yet they have a different experience than the people around them.  

Same thing if you’re watching a play, or reading a meditation book, listening to music, or walking in nature. 

You may hear & read & see the same exact things that others are hearing, reading, & seeing, yet you have your own interpretations of the experience.  

It’s good to have your own interpretation. 

All children are living from their individual perspective until they reach a certain age & the world sort of takes away their individuality & tells the person what to think, how to feel, and how to interpret things…   

So as we age we sort of lose ourselves as we conform to our surroundings, but what if we didn’t?  

What if we kept our individuality? 

What if we understood the power of conformity, & then we understood the power of our individual self? 

What if we stepped away from the crowds, & decided what we actually thought about things? 

Your perception is your reality

And how we feel about it?    

Do not disempower yourself by adopting other people’s perspective. 

You are it!

Quality of Life OVER Quantity of Life

“Who wants to live to be a hundred? What’s the point of it? A short life and a merry one is far better than a long life sustained by fear, caution, and perpetual medical surveillance.”

— Henry Miller  

Maybe it’s human instinct to want to live as long as possible, but is it worth it to live long if you are miserable? 

The answer will differ for everyone.  

But it is possible to live a disciplined & strong life, while also having joy in it. 

To each their own. 

LIVE WITH PASSION

“To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.”

— Ludwig Van Beethoven   

To the athletes & artists, this is for you.

If you are passionate about what you do, you will become great. 

You will fail over and over again, but if you are passionate, you will never give up.  

Let the apathetic ones give up. 

Let them laugh at you for being so passionate & obsessive with what you do.  

Ignore those losers – they’ve already lost so they try bringing others down into their misery. 

Ignore the haters. Stay far from them!! 

Do your art or your sport with passion. You will make mistakes, but never let mistakes define you or put you down. 

Get back in the game. Get back in the art. 

Play with passion. 

Live with passion.  

Never give up. 

Always keep going. 

Storms Are Great Teachers

“A single storm at sea teaches a sailor more than a thousand calm days on land. Value the lessons of the storm, for they are the ones that truly save you.” 

Most of us prefer calm days to stormy ones, but it’s the storms that teach us the most. 

If we never experience storms in our life – we won’t be prepared for life. 

Life happens. Your car breaks down. You lose your wallet. A storm destroys your basement. You lose men on your ship when a storm hits. 

Life happens. 

The best way to be prepared is to experience storms early in your life. 

When you’re young it’s helpful to have a parent or captain lead you through your first storms, but you must learn how to handle the storms on your own.  

Storms will inevitably happen in your life – as they happen to everyone. 

Don’t fear the storm & don’t run away from it. 

Look at the storm & learn that it is here to help you become stronger. 

Jump Into Life

“He who jumps into the void owes no explanation to those who stand and watch.”

— Jean-Luc Godard  

Are you a sideliner or a player? Perhaps both. 

Sometimes on the sidelines and sometimes the main character. 

When we lead in life, we must fully go into that time and space as a leader.  

Even when we are on the sidelines we can watch life fully – we can jump into it. 

And we owe no explanation to those who watch us.  

The majority of people are more watchers of life than livers of it. And that’s ok.  

The next time you are leading something, I encourage you to fully jump into your role, embrace it & enjoy it – & worry not about how others may perceive you. 

Trust yourself. 

Happiness > Dignified

“I would always rather be happy than dignified.”

— Charlotte Bronte  

Is happiness something only for children?    

As people age, it appears that any true happiness leaves them. (Not everyone, but the majority).

Many people get more death-like as they age, and less life-like. 

The true joy they had a child leaves them as they learn about the “real world.”  

In the real world you discover some people who only find “happiness” at someone else’s pain….thats not happiness or joy; that is sickness. 

But if the majority of people are sick, and even world leaders promote this sickness – it’s difficult to find true happiness. 

So, it is great to be serious, but we can also be happy too (& not “happy” at someone’s pain).  

How can you discover a real happiness again? 

That’s a great question, and the answer will be different for most people. 

What did you enjoy when you were younger? 

Do you have any hobbies that you actually like? 

Turn the television off. Ignore cruel politicians & never befriend a person who laughs at someone else’s pain.

You’ll never be happy if you laugh at the pain of someone. 

Think about what you enjoy, and take time to do some of that. 

How To Calm Negative Energy

“There are many ways to calm a negative energy without suppressing or fighting it. You recognize it, you smile to it, and you invite something nicer to come up and replace it; you read some inspiring words, you listen to a piece of beautiful music, you go somewhere in nature, or you do some walking meditation.”

— Thich Nhat Hahn 

Negativity is a part of human society. 

Positivity is too, but negativity seems to be “winning” so far. 

It’s easy to watch the news and get emotional and angry. 

70% of USA politicians intentions are to provoke negative emotions in people.

It’s easy to take the negative bait of a politician – but then you’re caught like a fish. 

It’s easy to be negative. It’s easy to be angry. 

It’s easy to hate.  

And the majority of people conform to “easy” because what is great is difficult. 

It takes time to be positive. 

It takes being intentional about your mental health. 

It takes ignoring cruel politicians and focusing on good leaders and being a good leader.  

But yea, Thich Nhat Hahn has some good ideas about how to calm negative energy: 

— Invite something nicer to replace the negative

— Read some inspiring words

— Listen to beautiful music 

— Go somewhere in nature 

— Do walking meditation