Hello –
There’s a lot of talk right now about making resolutions. People are interested in making this year better than the last one, which means making up their minds to make the requisite changes that will make things happen to make them happy.
That’s a lot of making.
Usually, this strategy creates little success by way of change for the better. Perhaps that’s why by Valentine’s Day, most have given up on their resolutions and given in to the same old same-old.
I admire what Tenzin Gyatso has to say about all this. Rather than make annual resolutions, I pay heed to his advice every day:
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Choose your words, for they become actions. Understand your actions, for they become habits. Study your habits, for they will become your character. Develop your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
Says it all, right?
Little wonder Tenzin is revered the world over as the 13th Dalai Lama, the incarnate leader of Tibetan Buddhism.
Instead of resolutions, his predecessor the Buddha called for right action, which involves the physical body as a natural means of expression. Unwholesome actions lead to unsound states of mind, while wholesome actions lead to sound states of mind. Simple.
Buddhists see right intention, right speech and right action as inseparable ethical principles. You may recognize them as the basic ingredients of integrity. They are also a large part of Immaculate Reception, my system for creating and experiencing life as you would have it.
On right action, Eckhart Tolle writes “Be still, alert, and open to what is. You look and listen, then you become one with the situation. Instead of reacting to a situation, you merge with it and the solution arises from the situation itself. Then right action happens through you.”
Master this lesson, and “resolutions” become fatuous and obsolete. You won’t be bullied by them anymore or self-flagellate for falling short.
Now you’ve got a handle on how to make 2017 your best year ever, and resolve that the best is yet to come.
Love shine upon you –
Peter