8 Things You Should Know About Enlightened People

8 Things You Should Know About Enlightened People

 

Do you spend way too much time under trees hoping for a sudden enlightenment, but nothing comes. Is enlightenment your ultimate goal in life?

In this article I would like to share with you some common traits of enlightened people and give you the opportunity to check out how enlightened you are.

Here are 8 characteristics of people who know what’s up.

They live in the now

They understand that the past and the future are only a mental constructions created by their mind and have nothing to do with their true essence. In reality, we always live in the now. When we think of the past or the future it can only be in the present. Their intense focus on the present lead them to perceive a strong sense of aliveness in everything around them.

They make nothing a means to something else

They have no purpose because they are already complete. They enjoy every activity they do for the sake of it not for what it may bring them in the future. They don’t spend their time wishing they be somewhere else. They don’t wait for anything to come. Nothing they are doing is a means for an end. The spiritual teacher Ram Dass has a sticker on his car that say “I’d rather be here now”. What are you waiting for?

 They are egoless

Because they live in the now, they don’t care about their “personal story” that is, a story solely based on their interpretation of past experiences. Their ego disappears because it is nothing more than a mental construction based on thoughts. It is not our true being.

Failure, success, honor, disgrace, recognition or money means nothing for them. Those are mere social conventions. They don’t need to impress anybody. They don’t care about what people think of them. They live their life and have no worries.

They realize their body and their mind is not who they are

The entire cells in our body are renewed every 7 years and our thoughts just come and go so both our body and our mind cannot constitute the essence of who we really are. They experienced the awareness, the presence beyond their body and their mind. They become the witness of their own body and mind, and observe the world with detachment.

They don’t take life seriously

For them the world is a playground where they simply witness things happening while remaining completely detached from them. They understand that absolutely nothing that happens in the world have the power to affect their true essence.

 They don’t care how long they are going to live

Because they live in the present, the idea of time disappears. We can only live in the present, and the present is timeless. If we stop thinking, our idea of past and future disappears. Then, dying in 5 seconds or in 50 years doesn’t matter anymore. That’s what Marcus Aurelius was talking about when he said “the longest-lived and the earliest to die suffer an equal loss”, that is, the loss of the present moment which is the only thing we have. Everything else is a mental construction.

Since we always think of the past in the present, it doesn’t really matter whether we are 70 or 20. Our past is still an illusion; a trick our mind is playing on us. We are unlikely to be happier by remembering the accumulation of 70 years lived than by remembering only one great memory that happened yesterday. Anyway, shouldn’t we enjoy the present moment rather than remember the past?

They live their own life and let others do the same

They are free and let others be free. They have no expectations of others and demand nothing to them emotionally speaking. They don’t expect anyone to bring them fulfillment and are not responsible to fulfill other people either. They understand they have no right to force people to stay with them. By the way, is it real love if you cling to others and refuse to let them go? Is it real love if your happiness comes first and their happiness come second?

They are happy by themselves

They are back to they natural state, that is, the state of happiness experienced by little children. Their happiness comes from within. They don’t need anyone or anything to make them happy. They truly enjoy the company of others but they don’t cling to them. They are happy being with others but they are also perfectly happy being alone.

What about you? How much have you in common with enlightened people? Are you ready to let go of your current identity and find what is behind? The ball is in your court.

 

http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/8-things-know-enlightened-people/#qeFeYhAXDUArZz7s.99

How to Forgive & Forget

 

Life isn’t all butterflies and rainbows, sometimes it has to hurt. People will hurt you, not always on purpose but it happens. You will break down, feel powerless and hurt yet you will stand up again. I am not justifying the people who may have hurt you but do you realize that this is life , this is the beauty of life. The fact that it’s never steady, it’s always ups and downs and you only grow with the experiences you go through (good and bad). If you really wanted to avoid being hurt you would have to shut yourself away from everyone in the world, but then…what’s the point of living? The remarkable thing about life is our interactions with people, our feelings and how it affects us. Accept the truth that you can get hurt in life and sometimes you can’t do too much to avoid it , now what do we do after we are hurt? We forgive and forget.

Yes, it is possible ! We all can forgive others and forget, some may have to try harder than others, yet it is something we are all capable of doing.
You have to realize that forgiving others for what they have done to you isn’t exactly so that they feel better, it’s for you. When you don’t forgive the people whom have harmed you, you carry the pain and the memories with you throughout your life. It may not bother you on a day to day basis but why do you want to re-live the pain and memories in your mind from time to time? Free Yourself

“Life is too short to hold a grudge, also too long.”  ~Robert Brault

Forgiveness is not easy to get or to give but it is a crucial thing people need to learn to do. Some do not understand that by never forgiving someone and holding a grudge against someone the only person that actually is continuing to be harmed is the one not forgiving. It’s a complete waste of time and mental energy planning and seeking revenge. Instead of holding onto painful and hurtful memories , why not use the time to focus on things that are more important? You can work on yourself, your career, your family and more.

Perhaps forgiveness is the best way to combat an enemy. If the person sincerely is sorry for what s/he has done to you, there is no reason you should continue the hatred and resentment towards this person.

“Where there is anger, there is always pain underneath.”  ~Eckhart Tolle

Ways to Forgive and Forget :

1) Accept it
One very important thing I learnt in life is that there are things that we can’t control and can’t change therefore all we can do is accept it instead of fight it.
Nobody is perfect, we all make mistakes and make retarded choices. That person made a mistake, made a stupid choice and hurt you. Now it’s over and there is no reason to linger in the pain anymore. Accept it that the person has hurt you, forgive and forget it.

2) Understand
A hard one to do. You probably thinking why should I try to understand why that person hurt me ?! However, sometimes we need to get into other people’s shoes to see why they might have done what they did. I repeat, we are all humans we make mistakes all the time.

3) It’s for You
You do not deserve to carry the pain with you during your life. You should be happy and be able to live your life properly. Remember that forgiving others is not for them yet for YOU.

4) Stop thinking about it and let go
It’s something which is hard to do but try to divert your attention to other things when you think of it. Forgiveness comes easier with time, give yourself some time to forget it. If you keep reminding yourself of how hurt you’ve been you never fully let go of it.

5) Write a letter to this person
Write out all the things the person has done to you, how they made you feel and how upset and angry you are. Then tear it and throw it away. The process is only for you to let it out of your system.

Remember that holding a grudge against somebody will only bring out the worst out of you physically and mentally. Life is too short to waste your time not forgiving others, there’s too much to enjoy in life :-).

 

http://www.the-cupoflife.com/forgive-forget/

How to Be Your Own Mentor, In Uncharted Waters!

This is a subject I have long thought about, and one that I think the world is about ready to incorporate into business life...As sometimes when your starting out in the business world/Vocational life/spiritual path, no good role models seem to be in your immediate environment. I personally think that mentorship is one of the most invaluable things in existence on this planet, as there is no substitute for true life experience. But sometimes life forces us all to go it alone. During these times of great emotional uncertainty and economic instability in society at large, we all need to learn how to tune into our own inherent form of self mentorship...

Some people connect with this inherent self mentorship information through spiritual modalities such as meditation, astrology, tarot, numerology, I-Ching or the like. These are esoteric forms of self discovery and self mentorship known as divination! Now this may sound all fancy, or sacrilegious depending on where your coming from theologically, but I can assure you that everyone needs to ask for mentorship advice at one point or another during life. That is all well and good, until you ask the wrong person for advice. Which happens all to frequently in my experience. The blind leading the blind as they say. (Or if your in a bind, you could ask someone like me, who does this ethically, for a living..)

The good news here is that these systems were invented to discern the truth of your own inherent higher self and higher guidance from your egoistic voice in your head. They draw upon the primordial wisdom of the collective unconscious, the left brain yin approach to self discovery through problem solving. As any problem that arises in the universe, simultaneously produces its own solution. This is the magic and mystery of life. There is always an answer if we are prepared to search inside ourselves for it. Because the only secrets in the universe are the things we hide from ourselves.

The ego always wants us to self sabotage, while our higher self always wants us to change for the better. Notice I didn't say your higher self always wants you to succeed... This is because failure usually teaches more than success, and draws our attention towards the fact that this reality is not one of ego gratification; quite the opposite... This is a reality of hard work and personal development on every level. If your not living, your dying and if your not growing your wilting.

Embracing your own internal guidance system is no easy process on one level. On another level it's incredibly simple, as it just means you have to embrace yourself as an individual and stop following the negative patterns of society, the media, and those around you who would lead you astray. But we all have access to it, that little voice inside that tells us right or wrong, good or bad, left or right; sometimes just in the knick of time. The key is we were all given these specifics systems as a naturally harmonizing mechanism within the human mind to keep us from doing stupid things, and pursuing questionable egoistic activities.

So the next time something goes wrong in your business and personal life, and you need to ask for advice; stop yourself and ask..... should I be asking someone else for advice, or should I ask myself?

 

 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-your-own-mentor-uncharted-waters-austin-muhs

 

3 Tips To Make 2015 Your Best Year Yet

Whoa! Doesn’t it seem like it was just yesterday that we were welcoming in 2014 and wondering what it would hold? 

Was this your best year ever? Did you achieve all of your goals and desires? Can you look back and see an incredible amount of improvement from where you started last January? 

If so, that’s FANTASTIC, and you’re probably primed and ready to tackle whatever the new year has in store for you… but if for any reason, your answer is different…

You might have had a year of ups and downs, or not quite made it to all the goals and dreams you had when the clock struck midnight on January 1st. 

All too often we get bogged down in our day to day lives, that perpetual routine, the endless hamster wheel of “normalcy” and within just a couple of weeks into the new year, all your hopes get put on the back burner, or worse tossed aside in your never ending daily routine. 

But why does that happen to so many of us? What’s keeping us from truly living our dreams and making lasting change in our lives? 

Part of it is habit, which is to say, we just tend to fall back into our familiar routines like putting on your shoes every day. It’s comfortable, it’s not outside the box… the status quo is a powerful thing indeed. 

But there’s something that’s just as powerful, and it LOVES the status quo, it thrives on keeping things exactly the same as they’ve always been, and it just hates change. 

What is it you ask? 

Well… it’s your subconscious. 

And it’s everywhere. It’s the bad cop in your mind stopping you at every turn from experiencing growth and success in almost every area of your life. 

Want to lose weight in the New Year? Your subconscious likes you just the way you are, thank you very much, and will do everything it can to ensure you pull into that drive-thru and grab a tasty snack. 

Want that promotion you’ve been dreaming of? Nope, your subconscious is there to put a screeching halt to that too, it likes the job you have now… you don’t want to actually have to do MORE work do you? I didn’t think so. 

It’s a tricky thing that subconscious mind and it will beat you every time… if you let it. 

But there are ways to get around all those roadblocks and actually let a little fresh air into your subconscious mind. 

Here are a few ways that you can prepare for the New Year, and actually start to make things happen! 

Tip #1. Meditate

If you don’t already know, meditation is one of THE best ways to nudge your subconscious mind in the direction of what you truly want, instead of what it thinks you want. 

You can do it any time of day, and it only takes a couple of minutes. Just find a quiet spot, sit down and start to clear your mind of negative or limiting thoughts. This is especially powerful if you have a difficult schedule and way too much to do. You might think you “don’t have time”, but that’s just your subconscious trying to persuade you not to do it. Don’t give in. 

Just a couple of minutes a day will start to get you in the habit, and soon you’ll find more and more time to do it. Meditation is such a powerful force that even traditional doctors are prescribing it to their patients these days! 

Tip #2. Try something new

This one is important! If you really want to open yourself up for change in the New Year, you have to be the change. You have to break out of your routine and do something that’s completely unscripted. 

Take a class at a local college… go explore your neighboring towns on the weekend, learn to knit, learn to cook… take your family to a museum or art gallery. It doesn’t matter what you do, just do SOMETHING. 

Not only will this open you up for new experiences, it will help your mind pull itself out of the rut you’ve been in and allow space for even more, new and better things to come in. 

Last but certainly not least… 

Tip #3. Let last year go

All too often we carry along baggage from the past into the New Year. We look back on the past year with weariness, and just think it’s going to be more of the same. 

Here’s what I want you to do: Make a list of all the negative things that might have weighed you down in the past year, the things you might regret, the things that were out of your control… and write them down on a piece of paper. 

Then say them out loud, let them out into the universe and let the weight of their existence come out of your mind and onto that paper. 

Then take that piece of paper and tear it up into little pieces and toss it in the bin. 

Tear it with glee, tear it with excitement, tear it with gratitude… that this year will be different than that and that you’re in control of your own destiny! 

Trust me here, it feels REALLY good when you actually do this little exercise. 

Let 2014 slip away and open yourself up to your BEST year ever in 2015. 

http://www.mindmovies.com/blogroll/post.php?id=169

The Secret Benefits of Giving That No One Told You About

Countless campaigns nudge us to be more charitable, to give to all sorts of different causes. As powerful as their ads may be there is something that they never include. That are the numerous ways in which living can be the path to a better living!

The Charities Aid Foundation conducted a Gallup survey in a total of 153 nations to get a picture of how popular philanthropy is and how many people take part in charities. The same people were polled about how happy they are with their lives.

The results of this study were quite amazing. The researchers concluded that large portions of the world’s population either gives money to charity or volunteers for a good cause. Almost half the world (45%) helps at least one stranger every month!

Philanthropy is evolving. Are you?

Philanthropy is becoming more prominent these days.

However, due to that fact, it is changing with the times. For example, many organizations now operate through online social media. These technological platforms are used to raise awareness and offer people who have limited time or tight resources the opportunity to contribute voluntarily in different ways.

Whether it is simply sharing a photo to show support toward a movement or a one-click $1 donation to a cause through a credit card, being charitable has become so simple that there is no excuse to not contribute. We now possess all the means necessary in order to give back to society.

 

Why should I give back?

Truth be told, not everyone understands why charity and philanthropy are as important for the giver as much as they are beneficial for the receiver. We could simply say that it is something like a reflex to these kind souls. The generosity in their heart simply compels their brain to help.

However, not all people feel the desire to donate to charitable causes. Perhaps scams of the past, money problems or a fast-paced, tight-scheduled reality have made us cautious of how we spend our money and somewhat neglectful to others in need. Perhaps it has nothing at all to do with the kindness in our hearts, but rather the reflection of our empty wallets or jaded perceptions.

When we forget to give back or refuse to help someone who has absolutely nothing to offer to us in return, who are we actually neglecting? We could claim we are neglecting those who need us, but in reality, it is our very soul that is becoming malnourished.

How is our soul connected to giving?

What is our soul and how do we nourish it? Our soul is a collection of our emotions, our thoughts and our personality. It is the essence that animates our bodies and defines who we are, what kind of lives we lead and how we treat others. To put it more simply, our soul is everything that makes us who we are.

 

Kindness, generosity and other personality traits like these are part of our souls and spirituality; therefore, in order to nourish our souls properly, we must cultivate all these positive attributes. The act of giving back to society and helping those in need is both the spoon that feeds us and the food that nourishes our well-being.

Francis of Assisi wrote, “For it is in giving that we receive.” What he meant is that the reward of giving is the act of giving itself. The gift is not a physical prize or measurable praise we might get out of our actions.

Here are five ways in which giving and being kind can improve your quality of life:

1.) Feel lighter. Feel happier.

Quite often our lives become too much for us to handle, especially as working adults. Trying to balance responsibilities in this mad world can be stressful. Making time to volunteer can keep ourselves grounded, grateful, and away from despair.

For example, when we see people who have less than we do yet they remain in positive spirits, we realize how lucky we are and learn to count our blessings. Also, by hearing their stories of struggle, we come to understand that anyone at any time might be found in the same position.

2.) Feel healthier. Be healthier.

The number one cause for all psychosomatic health problems is stress. This is because when our brain goes into overdrive with negative thoughts our nervous system sends out certain impulses. Our hearts beat faster and our adenoids release toxic energy.

We are always worried about one thing or another. Do we have enough time? Do we have enough money? Are we on the right track? Can we accomplish our goals? These are just a few of the questions that distract us from remaining present.

By giving, we can actually reduce this stress. The moment we do something kind for another person, there is a feeling of positivity and love that fills our hearts. This chemical reaction shields us away from the toxins our system produces when we are worried, anxious, or under pressure. The less stress we have in our lives, the healthier we become both physically and mentally.

3.) Learn how to be a team player and meet new people!

Who among us has not had moments of boredom and loneliness? Even if we have the busiest of schedules, when we do have spare moments we can feel off-balance. Due to our jam-packed planners we quite often become more solitary by simply not making the time necessary for socializing.

 

Giving and volunteering can actually help with this! Why not head to an animal shelter and spend time among creatures in urgent need of help and affection? You just might meet new people who share the same passion for spreading goodwill.  Wherever you decide to volunteer holds a potential for socialization and forming bonds.

4.) Learn the meaning of gratitude.

Regardless of whether we give or receive something in life, every time an exchange of a gift is made, there is gratitude involved. Being thankful or creating that experience for someone else are both two very special feelings. The act of giving brings on a wave of love, and where there is love, there is hope and happiness. Gratitude creates a chain reaction of positivity and abundance which is an integral part of our physical and mental well-being.

5.) Believe in yourself!

It is not rare for any of us to go through periods of low self-esteem in life. Not being able to see our self-worth can create devastating outcomes. It leads us to making poor decisions because we do not realize what we truly deserve. Helping others and being a good samaritan is great for getting in touch with our inner light. It can help us reinvent ourselves and find our lost admiration for the personality we so tirelessly forged.

 

Do more, be more, have more!

Being charitable and kind makes a huge difference, not only in other people’s lives, but in yours as well. If someone gets to experience a single day of happiness because of your charity, then what are you waiting for? As the saying goes, “God helps those who help others.” Not a bad deal, right? Try it and see the results yourself. Good Luck!

If you enjoyed reading about giving for a better living, remember this is just one of many ways to ‘bend’ reality, tap into powers beyond your conscious existence, and connect with your infinite self.

http://projectyourself.com/blog/giving-for-a-better/#sthash.DFclGqTa.dpuf