strategy

it's the art of hitting goal. strategy is the first aspect of the way i comprehended. still learn to use it and won't learn 1% of it in this life it appears.

it seems a universal key. it is, yet it is illusive and rather tricky to explain. so, do not take my words. destroy them completely and learn from what you find in the wreckage.

strategy has basic currents using which this world can be altered in any way:

1. we have what we seek. we seek what we have.
if we are not satisfied with what we have, we are to alter what we do. if we are not satisfied with what we do, we are to alter what we have. if we seek happiness and are not happy, we are not to do what we have done before.

2. we can.
if we doubt own ability to hit the goal we fail before we start. if we act, then no doubt. if we doubt, then no action.

3. standard solutions rarely work.
this world defies anything uniform. for example, there are no 2 identical hydrogen atoms. therefore, path of hitting goal is adaptation and original solutions. it's difficult, especially in the beginning: we'll see more failures than goals first. yet, it's a skill, so more we practice the better results we get.

4. learn before act.
if we do not know in details correlation of actions and their results in the chosen field, we are to fail most likely. therefore, before we act, we learn whatever we can about what we are to do.

5. peace.
if we are distracted we are likely to misjudge situation and thus fail. therefore, more we train to stay at peace more likely we are to succeed and vice versa.

with these currents i found way to happiness that can not fade. hope they would be as useful to you.

good luck.
mickael

inferiority & attachment

once it was a problem for me. yet my luck erased it at one moment. absolute most of the people i meet suffer from it.

how? for example, one seeks to be free of suffering and at the same time with admiration talks about some teacher. that one feels inferior to that teacher and at the same time wishes to be like him/her. these two wishes are in conflict, so no progress.

to be free like sakyamuni one has to be sakyamuni in a way. then it's a work, a routine, a daily thing - not a matter of admiration. hence, admiration is an attachment to what we do not know, i. e. an illusion. while one believes inferior thus it will be.

stand up and act. nothing changes otherwise. you can do it!

good luck.
mickael

retreat #2

hello, everyone!

so, what was the retreat like. well, 5 hours sitting, 6 hours sleeping, then chanting, walking looking down, working and eating in a very ritualised way. very boring. highly recommended.

also there was a zen master, so we had interviews. i found that the master is using pretty same algorithm for every student. whether this approach is efficient i would need to think over and examine. also i doubt usefulness of some koans. this matter takes further examination as well.

i took 5 vows and now bear a buddhist name in Kwan Um zen tradition. the name is myo do, which means 'mystic way'.

finally, a tip for people who plan to go on a retreat for the first time: rotate sitting positions often. :)

good luck.
mickael

retreat

hello everyone. i'm leaving for a retreat tomorrow. plan to be back on june 25. no fun here until then. :)

good luck.
mickael

take care

a koan. i don't remember exact wording, so excuse my memory.
a student came to a master and asked to tell him about enlightenment.
- have you eaten your meal? - asked the master.
- i have.
- go wash your bowl!
student was enlightened.

it was one of the first koans i've come across. i did not get it then. and lengthy explanation got thing even more messy. :)

it's simple though. if we don't wash dish after meal we get mess in kitchen. similarly, if we don't study and take care of our mind, we get mess in our lives. we all know simple things like meditation. we eat and wash dishes, have shower, brush teeth and meditation is something unnecessary. nobody tells about it on TV like they do about health so that medical industry had their profits, they tell about foods, gadgets and another war. we hear and believe. we do as they say. then, suddenly, we are unhappy. seeing the sun, we do not smile. seeing the rain, we do not smile. to know how weak we are and to take care of our weaknesses is something we can do tomorrow. this way we never learn to be happy.

nosce te ipsum - know yourself. then take care. if not you, no one will.

good luck.
mickael

helping another

helping another without naming the person is of little use since every human is unique, thus has to be the approach. so, here are few basic guidelines my experiments found to be useful in most cases.

• confidence. one has to study the matter well before considering helping. i can not help another to do something that i can not do.
  
• compassion. it's not that we need to feel for another person. we need to be another person. with fears and desires of that person. with joy and pain of that person. trick in doing so is to have the self be silent.
• peace. likely many of you know the feeling, that when you discover truth of some teaching, it is delighting, and there comes the wish to share this wisdom with others. stop. do not. whenever you are not at peace, be it joy or unease, do not try to help another for in this case we pass our illusions onto them.
• focus. earlier i discussed that human mind is a wonder even the fastest supercomputer would have trouble processing. this wonder needs complete focus when working with another wonder like it is. every sight, breath and word matter. how exactly this my thought is helping that person before me?
• know. the better you know the person you're trying to help the more likely it is to see the results. helping a stranger does not give visible results almost at all times. silly me - what am i doing then? :)

good luck.
mickael

attachment

earlier i discussed the base function of human mind - learning to give certain output on certain input. every thought we repeat forms certain output on certain input, i.e. forms a habit.

is it possible to have no thought thus no habit? likely. however, to have existing habits fade one has to have no thoughts for months at least. plus it would efficiently deny most of the communication and analytic functions. to cease thought is an exercise, not a goal. thus, forsaking habits is not the goal. while we think, we have habits and we have to think to communicate with other humans.

is it possible to have habits and still be at peace? certainly. what is attachment then? evidently, a habit that brings discomfort. from most trivial like feel depressed or angry if someone insults us and feel anxious if we don't get something to which we are used to; to those more tricky to notice like "he wrote a good thing", "i did well", "i won't be like that".

in a nutshell habit is simple, yet, as complex our mind is, habits aggregate: base habits dictate directions, those of a higher level dictate trends, higher level dictate flows and top level are most evident and easiest to fade, though many find them not easy at all. :) aggregate habits stand together, otherwise they would not have aggregate. and they dictate limitations, to which we adhere. those limitations bring discomfort.

so, how do we break free of attachment? it is to imagine for one moment that there are no limitations. literally. then repeat that thought. then again. and again. and again. and again. then figure most base of attachments and have them fade, i.e. not repeat them. quite simple. quite difficult. :)

and remember: do not believe anything i say. use critical approach and test things out on your own. it is only known way for a human to learn.

good luck.
mickael

joy & sorrow

i discussed this matter earlier, yet this one deserves to be repeated like a mantra, as people to whom i communicate do not tire to remind me of this with lack of smiles on their mind.

there are things we fear. there are deep secrets we do not share with anyone. they are but guidelines to what is holding us. these are great symptoms of attachments, habits we've built up so far.

so, what to do about them? in my experience shock gives best results and almost in all cases guaranteed results. how? start telling truth. always. i did that late winter night in 2004. one of the things that helped me most. it is very difficult in the beginning. it is painful. now it's natural and peaceful.

what do you fear most? confront it. face to face. have control over it. teach your mind to have no fear. if it's harmful in reality, this can be done with imagination. results in this case are not so dramatic, yet fine in place in most cases.


to deal with the self we have to cut the strongest of its roots. enough reading. go practice.

good luck.
mickael

smile!

if we'd recall recognised teachers of the present or images of teachers of the past, absolute most of them, if not all, wear a smile most time. why? this is a reflection of their mind, an exercise to keep the mind that way and an invitation to all who need help.

the mind will not learn to be peaceful and smiling if not trained that way this very moment. thus, smile every moment and let that smile be sincere. :)

good luck.
mickael

AI

artificial intelligence, namely neuron network systems, is one of areas of my professional expertise. what's a neuron network? roughly, it's a mathematical model of a brain. if someone is interested in the technical side of the question, please ask me for directions. what matters for today post is that neuron network, or a brain for that matter, is a determined mathematical function of certain complexity. the complexity is such, that if we take human brain, even the fastest supercomputer will have trouble processing the function.

so, what's about it? function of a neuron network is not self awareness, depression, blue sky and green grass, etc. the only function of a neuron network is approximation, i.e. learning to give certain output on certain input. any output can be taught on any input. self awareness for example is not required at all in approximation; moreover, it eats up damn lot of calculation power giving more obstacles in approximation than benefits. yet, self awareness is what we are taught from birth.

so, what are we supposed to learn from that? two things at least:
1. we merely are a learning function. if we take control of the input and the output, we can literally reach any results.
2. we are what we teach ourselves or let ourselves be taught.


sorry for all the boring technical stuff today. :)

good luck.
mickael

denial and the saint

we all know of 'good'. it opposes 'evil' and always wins in fairy tales. sometimes it does not in the world we call 'real'. all of us seek to be 'good'. like: 'i meditated for 5 hours today, i'm good'; 'i comprehended that concept, damn i'm good'; 'i put that bastard into place, i did well'; 'i've beaten crap out of him/her, i'm good'. we all got that concept of 'good', though some might view some of our actions as evil. what is the origin of that concept? where does it come from?

i wondered about this matter for some time and it appears to come down to abraham & saint paul. quite likely these are two people who influenced this civilisation the most. communities not touched by ideas started by them are very few.

so, what's about the ideas? they dictate certain rules. these rules indeed are very useful in organising people, that's why the ideas are so successful, yet these same ideas are one of the major limitations on the path.

what if i'm an atheist? name matters little. i was born and lived in the soviet union, an atheist state. it was atheist in name and quite aramic in views and policy. same goes for 'secular' laws in all the 'educated west'.

so, what's so bad about them? nothing. yet they divide this world unto us and them, good and evil. this division is so subtle and taught so deeply that few even think that it might be the case. 'i'm just doing a good thing'.

there is no distinction between most decorated saint, most bloody villain and any of us. yet, we all seem to rather associate with saints than villains. :) duality is our thought. this is what we heard first and during all our life.


so, what's the point today? denial. to be free we have to deny every single one of our thoughts. yet, to do this we have to comprehend the most fundamental trends that drive our thoughts. otherwise these trends drive our thoughts the familiar paths.

good luck.
mickael

nothing special

how often do we hear 'buddha', 'sakyamuni', 'teacher', etc. how often do we hear how great these people were or are, what kind of wise stuff they say, what kind of awe they inflict.

yet, question: why are there teachers? what are they trying to accomplish with all that? awe perhaps? hardly. everyone talking about them? i don't think so.

it's to have everyone be like them, learn to do things they can. does anyone recall a record of say sakyamuni being in awe of something? or going around repeating someone words and thinking of them circularly? these are of no use. to be like a teacher one has to kill the teacher, i.e. give the teacher no more regard than to a sand grain going by the wind. treat the teacher as nothing special in actions and, most importantly, in thoughts. to comprehend the reason behind every word, to doubt it, to question it, to challenge it. otherwise it's chasing phantom with face of a teacher. it's not leading anywhere you've not been already.

it's easily said - kill a teacher, yet how can this be actually done? if teacher is so wise and helps a lot? well, the sun helps well more. do you see many people walking around prising the sun? or thinking how great it is? discussing what kind of wonderful activity it shown last week?

we don't treat the sun as something special. we merely benefit from it. same goes for teachers. benefit from what they do or did. don't put their effort into waste with thinking about them, repeating their words, showing awe and gratitude. being like them is the best gratitude. and this means killing each and every one of them, defeating every of their teachings. all written in this blog included.

good luck.
mickael

no step

i've seen quite few practitioners who know the drill, who see chains of origination, who see the self and can control it, though perhaps not all the time. they are one step from being free, yet free they are not. why?

to be free from there takes one more step. the no step. giant leap without trace of movement. it takes only to recognise that they are already there. they got it. right here, right now. it takes to be a little stupid, little crazy, become someone else for one moment. someone, who you are already. someone, who does not exist. someone who knows nothing of this world. destroy this world and see own death to awaken and see that skies are blue and grass is green.

stop waiting for something. stop thinking of something called 'enlightenment'. there is no such thing. just stretch you hand and grab it. right here. right now. you can do it!

good luck.
mickael

fading self

earlier i wrote of no self. there i wrote of sudden enlightenment. changing point of view for one instant can destroy worlds and create new. this option is available for everyone every moment.

yet how can one take that option? it's more 'riddles' i fear. to take it is just to take it. nothing more is required. though there is one guideline: no self.

a rock has no self. if you dislike rocks, take a cloud, a river, whatever. how can one become a rock? as with many other things, through careful observation and learning.

why would anyone need these meditations and boring prolonged retreats? they are needed exactly because they are boring. these are exercises where 'self' has nothing to do. it fades. especially in regular and prolonged ones. many teachers of the past exhausted themselves with retreats that lasted for months and years. so far i have not seen a record of a human who got free without that kind of effort at all.

thus option of sudden enlightenment is right here and right now. yet, to pick it one has to fade the self. there sure are other exercises, just these boring ones are the simplest. so, get off the computer and go meditate, will you? :)

good luck.
mickael

will to improve

many practitioners seek improvement. 'i will make this world a better place.' 'i will make myself a better person.' 'i will find enlightenment.'


this world lasted since beginningless times. not once it failed to have a dropped rock fall. not once it failed helping in finding happiness. countless humans sought to improve this world. absolute most of them were unhappy. most of them brought more harm than peace with the improvements.

on the other hand sakyamuni and other teachers took little, if any, part in the world life. i don't recall any of them express the will to improve this world.



the idea of improving self is a trap in itself: it implies that there is a better self, to which we are inferior. in zen tradition it is said 'kill a buddha', i. e. dismiss the authority. thinking of a better self first we form up an illusion, then label it as authority. quite unhelpful.



quite a tiny percent of people know what enlightenment is in every time. yet they hardly speak of it. why? because they who don't know start thinking about it, start seeking it. so, they seek something they do not know, yet they imagine it well. they chase an illusion. this way brings no peace.


thus, will to improve is phantom chasing. breath in. breath out. smile :)

good luck.
mickael

freedom

many seek it, yet what exactly is freedom?

i stand under the skies. gravity pulls me down. i dream of a world where i can fly. yet, that world has own laws, which limit. what is a world of no laws? blank paper? it is white and it is flat. limitations are fewer yet they are there.

a thought? yet, thought has its currents, patterns and ways.

no colour, no shape, no sound, no smell, no taste, no thought. it is a no-world. :) there is no place for me, since i would be a limitation then. in a no-world anything is possible, since no limitation present. there's a trick though: it's non existent since existence would be a limitation. thus, while there is existence of anything, no-world can not be gasped. this is a reason many sought to destroy this world and many succeeded. this is the reason afterwards they call this world a world of illusion.

so many limitations we state in the most basic thought patterns. how can we be free? we can not. until we gasp a no-world.

good luck.
mickael

student & master

many of us, who discovered few things, find quite a will to share them. and many of those who try, find the results quite different from expectations. as i have learned again the hard way, quite few of those who believe they are ready to teach actually are ready, which is evident from the results.

so, what's the trick? few rather simple guidelines:

• 3 conditions of a jar and one condition of a buddha. if either of the 2 neglects any one of these conditions, every attempt brings only harm. if this is the case, please stop and explain this to the counterpart or/and oneself. the curious i encourage to carefully observe results of doing otherwise. and remember them well.

• no self/will to help. to help another find peace one has to concentrate on helping and nothing else. no other thought than 'helping' should arise. this is firmly interconnected with the condition above.

• open eyes & learn. every reaction, every particular word matters. if to pay careful attention to them and think of their origin, much can be discovered about oneself and the counterpart, thus ways adapted accordingly. study oneself, study human mind. working with unfamiliar matters is quite difficult.

• take a breath. first reaction far not always is most appropriate. or perhaps it's only me who is slow. :)

thus master seeks to learn the mind and student seeks to forget this world. master seeks to be student and student seeks to be master. otherwise neither learns anything.

am i a student or a master? i don't care. :)

good luck.
mickael

karma

many practitioners see karma as a mystic teaching and put little emphasis on that. so did i. yet, as i discovered, it's quite important.

what is karma? it decides our lives. it is a law a human can not defy. it is a law a buddha can break.

what is it? since it is breakable, it's of our creation. how?

i did a stupid thing. now my friend is bothered. i think of it, thus i am bothered as well. i am no good. what am i to do? when we meet, i can not say right words. i'm no good. it continues until i recognise the err and revert.


karma is a thought. every thought dictates our fate. that is why practice is this moment.

to stop thought is a skill that takes long and thorough effort. yet, to watch thoughts is something anyone can right away. what karma have you built today? perhaps it's the time to change it.

good luck.
mickael

answers & questions

i'm not giving any answers here. no need. every human has all the answers since beginningless times.

why not everyone is a buddha then? everyone is. yet, not everyone knows. and despite that, every human uses the path to some extent. without thinking about it. like breathing.

so, i'm giving no answers. i'm not giving something everyone already has. i'm giving questions. a tool to discover the answers.

it's a common knowledge that chan/zen people speak in riddles. actually, it's quite the opposite: it's as plain as words permit. words permit giving questions. some answers can not be spoken. these questions are not riddles without answer, nor there's anything sacral to them. they are working tools and nothing more. use them to own benefit.

good luck.
mickael

no self

many old texts indicate this as a condition required to be free.

i was damn lucky, so for me it made complete sense when i first read of it. a luxury quite few have.

so, what is 'no self'? it is literal meaning. denial of the self, the world. not one thought of the self or in perspective that the self and the world exist or matter. neglect to the hunger, breathing, heartbeat, thought, movement, life, death, sky, earth, love, suffering, happiness, god, philosophy, wisdom, cruelty, kindness, foes, friends, family, mankind, planet and the universe. silencing the world, the mind. sounds much like death in aramic tradition.

it's rough. most will find the above unpleasant. indeed it is unpleasant, as we have learned from childhood. and through this, many will find themselves unwilling to give it a thorough thought, much less will actually try.

i've learned this lesson the hard way. i had no one to advise me. this almost killed me. yet i was lucky and one japanese told me right words at the right time.


if we'd recall teachers of the past, they got free either with help of right hint at right time, luck if you will, or, which is more often so far i can tell, through prolonged self denial practice like living on a wild mountain or meditating non stop for months and years.


i wonder if there is a third option. to actually learn this lesson the easy way. all it takes for the self to be gone is change mind for one moment. this instant one becomes free. i am researching this question currently. anyone can help: destroy this world and tell me of your discoveries.

this instant everything can change.

good luck.
mickael

masks & games

earlier i discussed habits and their origin. this post is about aggregate habits, greater circle in which we run.

from early childhood we copy people around us. we see a smile and smile in return. we see a tear and shed a tear. we learn our ways encouraged and punished by those around us. we learn things 'cool' and learn things 'bad'; learn darkness and light. we learn to be ourselves.

what am i?

sometimes i'm cheerful, sometimes i'm sad, sometimes i'm angry, sometimes i'm nice, sometimes i'm stupid. lots of me. each one reacts differently and looks differently. thinks differently. different me.

and there are situations and conditions that can lure particular me out.

yet, what other than me can command these? can i call forth any one of them instantly?

sure. if there's an important meeting, i pull out nice me even if angry me lurks behind it. i pull out cheerful me if i don't want people to know or worry about troubled me. i pull out angry me when i want to be alone.

a mask behind a mask. what is me?

there's real me. the one behind all masks. someone kind and peaceful, willing to help.

yet it's another mask. another copy of something learned.


why is there a mask? every social human wears them. without a mask another social human will not understand me. i say something with a smile of a kind mask and my partner has another reason to think about my words. if i'm scared, here comes frightened me to tell everyone about it. even if no one is around. :) if courageous me comes, my spirits fly high and eyes shine. thus game of masks continues.

yet game is a game and masks are no more than a way of communication. it is not what we are. masks we learned somewhere do not have to dictate our thoughts and actions. masks running free often bring harm and call upon the sad mask.


so, what am i? masks do not know the answer, thus i can not write it.

wise mask off. here comes usual silly smile :)

good luck.
mickael

ignorance & attachment

it's quite widely known that root of suffering is attachment and root of attachment is ignorance.

there is root of ignorance. it's attachment to self. so, it forms a circle: attachment augments ignorance while ignorance augments attachment. it's running in circles, therefore it's pretty hard to advance: the faster we run, the sooner we exhaust.

how does attachment to self augments ignorance? 'i know better than the one beside me.' 'i'm fed up with this all!' 'this thing is no good, i need a better one.' 'i'm too tired today.' 'i love you.' 'what entertainment should i pick next?' 'i want that!'

arrogance, rage, greed, sloth, lust, gluttony, envy. familiar eh? each of them denies learning. lack of learning encourages each one of them. all come from the idea that 'i' exists.

i know how it sounds. no fun. smells of apathy. pretty sad.

why does it sound that? we have all been taught this way since birth. there are things we are taught to despise and others to admire. neither brings peace.

good luck.
mickael

practice

it is a common view that practice is meditation & chanting. true, yet it's only a tiny part of what practice is. my practice now is to find the words. your practice now is reading this. practice is now. the thought you have right now. why you have it? what that thought brings? what habit it aids?

watching own thoughts is tricky. present habits will oppose this greatly. mind will find thousands of excuses to not do it. mind will invent thousands of tricks to hide thoughts, hide their reasons, hide their outcomes.

for 3 years i walked and stumbled on that goal. now i know that it is possible and that anyone can do it, given adequate effort.

right now, what am i thinking? orange button 'publish post'. perhaps someone will benefit from it..

good luck.
mickael

what to learn

every moment we learn. every moment that we do not deny learning, that is.

sun shines. clouds pass by. special are we? chosen are we?

cat purrs. it's inferior to humans. it can not understand anything about this world, about human heart. yet, a cat is never depressed.

sand grain is insignificant. it's not worthy of mention. yet, it knows stillness as no human will ever know it.

oak tree outside is dumb and thick bark. yet, it's immortal.

mighty humans we are. we have electricity and cell phones, know of gravity and distant stars, shatter atoms and bring progress to life. things are easier. life is better. we grow smarter.

yet, are we any more happy than our ancestors 20000 years ago?

special are we? did we learn anything in these 20000 years?

of course! we go to school and listen parents. we follow their footsteps or rebel against them. we are free and unique. we are special!

then why can't we do a simple thing a cat can? a regular little cat who understands nothing?

do we know ourselves?


i look into the sky and see the sun. 5 years ago i've seen my reflection in whatever i looked. clouds pass by. i was quite unhappy. cat purrs. this world has much to tell to anyone willing to listen. sand grain flies by the wind. yet, those who do not know who they are - deaf to this world. oak tree whispers gently.

you can do it!

good luck.
mickael

whose fault? what to do?

in russia these questions are sacramental and asked over since XIX century. all the time that life in russia was quite a turmoil.

how many of us do ask these questions regularly?

it seems natural to seek revenge on someone who brought 'misfortune' on our head. that's what we are taught. that's how the judicial and penal systems work. yet, does it bring peace upon any of the participants? there's an old saying that if 'eye for eye' rule was followed, we'd all be blind by now.

seeking for one to place blame is chasing an illusion for right now it changes nothing. what can change things is taking responsibility, not placing blame, then taking action.

what action? most of us have idea of a 'good thing' and take an action that way. as discussed in the previous post, 'good thing' is no more than a habit passed down to us by someone. 'good thing' and especially number of 'good things' in line rarely bring result. yet, that's what most of us do. and world governments pretend to be doing. :)

so, the way to change matters is to study them thoroughly and only then act. there is one trick on the way though - the tool with which we study and act - our mind. unless we can fully understand it and take responsibility over it, we hardly can talk of any predictable study or action. there's where the 'good things' come and the turmoil for russia.

therefore, don't rush. take a breath. smile!

good luck.
mickael

right and wrong

it is only natural that people judge some things as 'right' and some as 'wrong'. yet, what is the nature of this division?

being regular on this kind of discussions, i can tell that absolute most of people judge some 'rights' and some 'wrongs' as absolute. should mention that almost every group i've seen insists on their own set of 'absolutes'.

where do they come from? as every habit, they come from being repeated many times to one who declares them. we all are this way. does this fact alone makes something better than other? even if 'right' things evidently bring harm? even if 'wrong' things bring peace without harming anyone?

it is a choice: to see the opposites or see the essence. most people see opposites. are they happy?

good luck.
mickael

way to learn

to learn something new, 3 conditions must be met, the conditions of a jar:

1. jar must not be broken. if one does not remember or comprehend that which is said, no fruit will come, like no liquid is held by a broken jar. thus, those willing to learn question themselves: 'do i recall what was said? should i ask to explain in other words?'

2. jar must not be closed. when one denies a statement without thorough examination, one denies the opportunity to learn the truth behind it, like a closed jar accepts no liquid. thus, those willing to learn question themselves: 'in what way the statement i deny is right?'

3. jar must be empty. when one is confident about own knowledge in some area, one denies the opportunity to learn something new about that area, like a water filled jar accepts no oil. thus, those willing to learn question themselves: 'do i not presume to know more than the one beside me?'.

in my observations, these conditions are required whenever learning takes place. if one is missing, an argument takes place, not learning. arguments quite rarely bring any answers. i encourage you to check this and let me know of your discoveries.


to learn of own mind, there is one more condition. condition of a buddha: one must be sure to kill a buddha. in other words, treat authority as an equal. an equal, one providing a teaching can be in err, therefore every statement must be thoroughly examined and judged to be accepted or rejected with line of arguments for either. willing to learn question themselves: 'why exactly do i presume that the statement is accurate?'


of course there is a way to study own mind without learning from another, so the conditions above are not a must. yet, in my experience, not using them denies years and decades of peace.

good luck.
mickael

we can, we can't.

there is a saying: 'victorious warriors win first, then go to war. defeated warriors go to war first, then seek to win.' every goal works same way.

to reach the target one must comprehend own capability of doing so, comprehend the area in which goal is to be hit and put consequential effort driving situation to the target. if one of these three is missing, the goal is unlikely to be reached.

there are some who think: 'the goal is too tricky, doubt i can do it.' there are some who think: 'i know better than one beside me.' there are some who think: 'i'll skip it just this one time.' all they do is deny themselves the victory before and regardless of the effort.

no other than we determines what we can and what we can not. there is no other limit. this was confirmed by many before us and will be by many after. i have no doubt that everyone CAN. all left is to believe in yourself.

good luck.
mickael

habits origin

how do we get habits? quite like the animals get their reflexes: if you ring a bell before feeding a pet for few weeks, quite likely the pet will come on the bell ringing even if you would not feed it afterwards. repeated enough times the habit comes.

so, who's that bell master for us? well, we are no other. yet most do not recognise it, thus habits form as parasites without anyone's notice. as a harmless example, everybody knows that sun is yellow. yet, why do we call it yellow, say not green? we'd call it green if we were taught so from childhood. thus, 'yellow' here is no more than something that someone in the past considered 'convenient'. in itself it does not mean that it has to be convenient or right. if it rains, it does not mean that anyone should feel down. i smile to the rain as i smile towards the sun. smile! this'll get things little better for sure. :)

so, nearly every reaction and thought dictated by something repeated many times, like that bell. therefore, if a reaction or thought brings harm, it can be taught otherwise, given adequate effort. this is the basic principle and the first step on the way of happiness.

good luck.
mickael

habits

everyone has habits. there are some we acknowledge well like smoking or using particular words. others most neglect like certain reactions in certain situations, thought patterns. giving up the latter is no easier than the former and even more difficult since most do not acknowledge these habits.

so, what about them? quite often, these habits bring well more harm than say smoking. especially when they run free unmanaged and not recognised. from my observations generally, over 90% of all thoughts conducted by an adult are formed by habits, regardless if this brings harm or denies people their goals. it's like the cases when person understands what is to be done, yet can not because of the build up mind habits that limits it.

is it possible to get rid of all the habits? no. it's the way human mind works. breathing is a habit either. :) trick is to figure habits that bring harm and give them up. quite simple. quite difficult.

the way this can be done is training. when you see a harming habit in action - try to stop it. sooner or later an attempt will be a success.

good luck.
mickael