Let’s do a little mindfulness exercise right now. You can do this with your eyes open or shut, in a quiet place or not; but closing your eyes and being in a quiet place help to turn off the prefrontal cortex (PFC), the “conscious” part of your brain and allow you to concentrate more on your subconscious thoughts.
Pretend that you are a scientist on an alien world, or an alien scientist on our world. You are there to observe, to take notes, to try and understand this alien world. As such you are objective and have no preconceived ideas or emotional ties to what you see and hear. It is what it is.
You observe that the wall is white with a patch of dirt on it. You don’t think, “That wall’s dirty; those kids are out of hand, what am I going to do about them?” You hear a car horn. You don’t think, “Why are people always honking their horns? Can’t they be more courteous?” Just observe and reserve any judgments that you might have about your observations.
Such observational mindfulness is a good form of meditation that allows you to free your mind from thought and enables you to relax. This form of mindfulness allows you to rest your brain from the barrage of thoughts that invade your mind on a constant basis. It’s a good idea to practice mindfulness often; it will have the multifold affects of letting your mind and body rest, bring you a sense of peace, and increase your observational skills.
Once you have become practiced at mindfully observing your environment, it is time to observe your own mind and body. What are the thoughts that cross your mind? What are you thinking? What are you feeling? What emotions are associated with your thoughts? What’s happening to your body as you have these thoughts and emotions?
If we are careful and honest observers, we can see a pattern begin to develop. We can see the thoughts that affect our emotions and our attitudes towards life. We can begin to see how such thoughts and emotions affect our bodies, maybe giving us upset stomachs or racing heartbeats. We can see how much of our thoughts are negative and how much are positive.
How much of our thoughts are spent in the past? Maybe we are thinking of mistakes we made or of regrets that we have. Maybe we are still angry at someone’s inconsiderate or stupid actions of last week, last month, or of years ago.
Maybe our thoughts are preoccupied with the future. Are you anxious about the job interview you have tomorrow? Are you wondering if they cute guy you met will call you? Are you worrying about the work that you have finish by Friday?
Such observations have an immediate and helpful result: We are more conscious and careful of our thoughts. We begin to see that we are angry about past hurts of which we have no control over and of which the offending party has probably forgotten; and that such anger only affects us and not those who we wish to hurt back. We see that worrying about the future is useless since it is not yet here and we are wasting the present moment in which we can live happy lives.
Another scientific study has found that pessimistic and optimistic people have the same amount of negative thoughts throughout their days. The difference is that optimistic people stop the negative thoughts in their tracks and do not allow them to progress. On the other hand, pessimistic people allow the negative thoughts to ferment and grow to catastrophic proportions. By observing your thoughts you will be able to stop your negative thoughts in their place.
Thus with this simple mindful exercise you have already begun to tap into the great power of the One. A One that is you. Just by observing your mind, understanding it, catching it in a negative state, and changing it to a positive state you have exerted great power, a power that maybe you were unaware of until now.
Knowing that you can control your own mind and its thoughts will give you great confidence. You are no longer a victim of circumstances or of fate or of destiny. You make your own destiny; you are in control; you have the power.
This is what the Rule of Divinity is all about—it is about you! You have within you a divine power to control your life, your happiness, and your fortunes. “Everything is One and One is the greatest power.” “Everything” includes you. You are everything; you have the power of everything, of the One, inside you.
The Paradox of the Rule of Divinity, the fact that we do affect others and ourselves and vice versa also includes the affects that we have on ourselves. By affecting our own lives by controlling our minds and changing negative thoughts to positive thoughts has a profound effect on those around us. When we become positive thinking people then others will respond to us positively. They become positive not only in response to our positivity, but also because we have affected a greater part of ourselves that expands beyond the limits of our corporal body. Just as our thoughts can affect the molecules of water, we can affect the thoughts of others.
When you learn to tap into this incredible resource there will be no stopping you. You will grow in confidence and in your ability to use your newfound powers. Your life will change in ways that you always dreamed of but never thought possible. In later chapters I will discuss more ways of how you can use this greatest power in your life.
A QUICK GUIDE TO MINDFULNESS
1. Sit or lie down in a quiet place with your eyes open or closed.
2. Pretend that you are a scientific observer on an alien planet.
3. As an alien observer you have not pre-judgments about what you see or hear.
4. Observe your own body, your breathing, your muscles, and heart beat.
5. Now observe the thoughts that come into your mind.
6. Do not judge your thoughts; only classify them as to the negative or positive affects they have on your emotions and body.
7. If you are having negative thoughts, stop them and replace them with positive thoughts such as remembering a happy moment from your past or daydreaming about the future you would like to have.
8. Repeat this mindfulness technique often and you will get better at it and at stopping your negative thoughts.
Pretend that you are a scientist on an alien world, or an alien scientist on our world. You are there to observe, to take notes, to try and understand this alien world. As such you are objective and have no preconceived ideas or emotional ties to what you see and hear. It is what it is.
You observe that the wall is white with a patch of dirt on it. You don’t think, “That wall’s dirty; those kids are out of hand, what am I going to do about them?” You hear a car horn. You don’t think, “Why are people always honking their horns? Can’t they be more courteous?” Just observe and reserve any judgments that you might have about your observations.
Such observational mindfulness is a good form of meditation that allows you to free your mind from thought and enables you to relax. This form of mindfulness allows you to rest your brain from the barrage of thoughts that invade your mind on a constant basis. It’s a good idea to practice mindfulness often; it will have the multifold affects of letting your mind and body rest, bring you a sense of peace, and increase your observational skills.
Once you have become practiced at mindfully observing your environment, it is time to observe your own mind and body. What are the thoughts that cross your mind? What are you thinking? What are you feeling? What emotions are associated with your thoughts? What’s happening to your body as you have these thoughts and emotions?
If we are careful and honest observers, we can see a pattern begin to develop. We can see the thoughts that affect our emotions and our attitudes towards life. We can begin to see how such thoughts and emotions affect our bodies, maybe giving us upset stomachs or racing heartbeats. We can see how much of our thoughts are negative and how much are positive.
How much of our thoughts are spent in the past? Maybe we are thinking of mistakes we made or of regrets that we have. Maybe we are still angry at someone’s inconsiderate or stupid actions of last week, last month, or of years ago.
Maybe our thoughts are preoccupied with the future. Are you anxious about the job interview you have tomorrow? Are you wondering if they cute guy you met will call you? Are you worrying about the work that you have finish by Friday?
Such observations have an immediate and helpful result: We are more conscious and careful of our thoughts. We begin to see that we are angry about past hurts of which we have no control over and of which the offending party has probably forgotten; and that such anger only affects us and not those who we wish to hurt back. We see that worrying about the future is useless since it is not yet here and we are wasting the present moment in which we can live happy lives.
Another scientific study has found that pessimistic and optimistic people have the same amount of negative thoughts throughout their days. The difference is that optimistic people stop the negative thoughts in their tracks and do not allow them to progress. On the other hand, pessimistic people allow the negative thoughts to ferment and grow to catastrophic proportions. By observing your thoughts you will be able to stop your negative thoughts in their place.
Thus with this simple mindful exercise you have already begun to tap into the great power of the One. A One that is you. Just by observing your mind, understanding it, catching it in a negative state, and changing it to a positive state you have exerted great power, a power that maybe you were unaware of until now.
Knowing that you can control your own mind and its thoughts will give you great confidence. You are no longer a victim of circumstances or of fate or of destiny. You make your own destiny; you are in control; you have the power.
This is what the Rule of Divinity is all about—it is about you! You have within you a divine power to control your life, your happiness, and your fortunes. “Everything is One and One is the greatest power.” “Everything” includes you. You are everything; you have the power of everything, of the One, inside you.
The Paradox of the Rule of Divinity, the fact that we do affect others and ourselves and vice versa also includes the affects that we have on ourselves. By affecting our own lives by controlling our minds and changing negative thoughts to positive thoughts has a profound effect on those around us. When we become positive thinking people then others will respond to us positively. They become positive not only in response to our positivity, but also because we have affected a greater part of ourselves that expands beyond the limits of our corporal body. Just as our thoughts can affect the molecules of water, we can affect the thoughts of others.
When you learn to tap into this incredible resource there will be no stopping you. You will grow in confidence and in your ability to use your newfound powers. Your life will change in ways that you always dreamed of but never thought possible. In later chapters I will discuss more ways of how you can use this greatest power in your life.
A QUICK GUIDE TO MINDFULNESS
1. Sit or lie down in a quiet place with your eyes open or closed.
2. Pretend that you are a scientific observer on an alien planet.
3. As an alien observer you have not pre-judgments about what you see or hear.
4. Observe your own body, your breathing, your muscles, and heart beat.
5. Now observe the thoughts that come into your mind.
6. Do not judge your thoughts; only classify them as to the negative or positive affects they have on your emotions and body.
7. If you are having negative thoughts, stop them and replace them with positive thoughts such as remembering a happy moment from your past or daydreaming about the future you would like to have.
8. Repeat this mindfulness technique often and you will get better at it and at stopping your negative thoughts.
