Your power is the most important thing you have. It is your drive and your ‘will to life’. Empowered people know how to get what they want and get it. They don’t dwell in confusion and self-pity. They excel at what they do because they are confident and inspire confidence in others. Be powerful!
Without it, you are a slave, not a free man or woman. All too often we give our power away because we don’t value it. It’s hijacked to serve someone else. This leads to oppression, depression and worse.
When you pressure yourself to do something unpleasant, your ego is working against your will to life. When you force yourself to do things you don’t want to do, you accept an unacceptable situation. This acceptance is timidity, bullying, where the victim is you, and the bully is also you. So, be gentle with yourself, acknowledge the ego in control, keeping things as they are. Just observe it, even if it seems wrong. Actual change only comes through understanding.
For Spinoza, timidity is power. Spinoza calls it evil, meaning a diminishment of power. When fear of power being stripped away from us is more frightening than the fear of timidity, we are timid. When you are in fear, you cannot function rationally because your emotions control your actions and reactions. Fear is a part of the fight and flight system, and it evokes timidity. When you act timidly, you block your desires and thwart your best interests. In other words, timidity is the power of action that you turn against yourself. Therefore, it is a form of self-hatred.
Timidity is power. Spinoza has a lot to say about timidity. It is something he calls evil, in which he means a diminishment of power. When we act timidly, we fear a more frightening diminishing of power. Fear is part of the fight and flight system and evokes timidity. When you are in fear, you cannot function rationally because your emotions control your actions or reactions. When you act timidly, you do not acknowledge your desires and thwart activity in your own best interest. Therefore, timidity is the power of action that you turn into and against yourself. As such, it is a form of self-hatred.
Spinoza mentions timidity as part of consternation (or, as we might call it, procrastination). He likens timidity as part of the double ideas or actions of consternation. On the one hand, you are confused because you are timid, yet you remain apprehensive on the other hand. Hence, confusion. This lack of action leads to indecision and may take on the form of procrastination. Procrastination is nothing more than double timidity. It is what they call a catch 22 situation where you cannot win.
One way to win is to observe the timidity and don’t try to change it. The change will never come by force. Any change will happen necessarily through your observations of it, not by force. Alternatively, you can go right into timidity and be timid beyond the possibility of your imagined dreams. You can do both to observe your timidity with greater clarity. These two behaviors are something to play with as exercises.
Therefore, consternation arises from a double timidity. It can better be defined as a fear which keeps a man senseless or vacillating so that he cannot avert evil. Spinoza, then, also saw cowardice as “a desire thwarted by timidity.”
Courage as an alternative knows the dangers that lie ahead and yet decides how to act.
Consequently, timidity is the diminishment of your power due to fear. Understanding this fact is power. You realize that you replaced a greater imagined evil (the threat) for a lesser one (timidity). When you see both paths are viable, you have the knowledge that leads to being gentle with yourself. This understanding will work for you in tackling the thing you fear. Your insight deconstructs your timidity. This transforms timidity into power.
What can you accomplish when you are not timid?
It must be acknowledged that people-pleasers are timid because they’re afraid to insist on their needs being met. Wanting to be liked relates to timidity. When you are scared, you hate the imagined cause for that timidity. Whoever or whatever you hate is the imagined external cause of your sense of a diminished state. So, if you fear flying, you hate airplanes, and if you fear your boss, you hate your boss. Then what does Spinoza say about hate?
When we hate others, we imagine them to be the cause of our pain. However, the only real cause of our pain is ourselves. Timidity towards someone or something happens when you cannot confront the fear or exhibit your power over the fear. Sometimes this is a legitimate fear, as with a boss, yet you still have the power of action. You can report them or leave. This affect takes consistent observation to understand.
External triggers are an accidental cause of most emotions, including hope, fear, pleasure, or pain. Your response to that external thing is what hurts you. Emotions are triggered through imagination due to an accidental external cause. This trigger can recollect a painful memory or evoke fear of a negative expected outcome. The only real thing is what is happening inside you.
A caveat here is that we are not dealing with physical pain but emotional pain and timidity.
We understand that people can get stuck in timidity and destroy themselves because they fear somebody’s approval. An instance of this is a young boy who wants to be liked by a girl. He wants to ask her out but is too timid to do so. He is terrified in his imagination of the humility he will feel if she rejects him, so he never takes the chance. This lack of action is unfortunate.
Perhaps we believe that our self diminishment will reward us? This idea is inadequate because we cannot possibly know what another person wants. The only thing we can understand is our own needs and desire. As such, we strive to further the occurrence of what we imagine will lead to joy. We avert or destroy what we believe is contrary to pleasure or leads to sadness. Adequate striving empowers us, and this requires courage to be ourselves and know our nature.
Part three of the Ethics gives us an insight into this. It reminds us to further focus on what we imagine will lead to joy and enhance our power. Therefore, keeping our attention on the things that strengthen our existence will give us joy. Focus on keeping the beast fed and striving for power. When we focus on something where we have experienced disempowerment, it will lead to sadness. We cannot escape the roller coaster of pleasure and pain. But it is worth noting that understanding this process generates power within us. This power can overcome timidity and turn it into a necessary action of force. We are no longer timid; we are taking the option, which is being gentle towards ourselves. Action may even mean punching the boss on the nose and walking out!
“People-pleasing withdrawal” is hesitation in following a course of action. We are fearful because we are afraid of how others will react. When you follow a course of action for yourself because you don’t feel that it will please others, it’s about the fear of losing love and approval from others. Because of this fear, we continue to give our power and authority to them. We try to please them in every way possible. Yet, they have no idea who you are when you do this because you suppress your true self. They will likely prefer your authentic self. They probably know or suspect what you are genuinely are anyway.
This behavior applies if someone felt that they always must do what other people want. They fear people being mad at them or stop liking them. This person would feel guilty when they refused a request from someone else and would often apologize unnecessarily.
This particular person also has difficulty acknowledging their needs, making decisions on what they really want, etc. They might not even know their individual wants because they are ignorant about them. They are victims of their imagination and lack of self-knowledge.
People who consistently do things their way and refuse to listen to others may also have an overly strong sense of being right in doing so. Many of the following statements can be accurate, but some aren’t necessarily true:
“I never make a mistake; I’m very much a perfectionist.”
“If I change my mind, it’s because my mind is changing.”
“It’s not fair when other people can change their minds. And they shouldn’t be able to change their minds anyway. Why should I change my mind if you’re not willing to change yours?”
“If you don’t like something, then just refuse to do it.”
“I’m never wrong about anything.”
Now obviously, those statements above aren’t necessarily a good thing. The person can be very dogmatic and stubborn. They might also have trouble understanding others. They may not accept that others have different needs regarding interaction, such as not being interrupted. It’s all about how the person uses their behavior.
It’s a lot easier to be flexible when we’re not so emotionally invested in something. And we don’t have to deny others’ wants, desires, and feelings either. Yet that doesn’t mean they can have everything they want. It does mean they’ll have to let go of a fear of losing love or approval from others. Most people who refuse to listen to others are more afraid than others who are timid, yet they are so asleep that they dare not acknowledge it within themselves. Fear underlines most interactions between people, and the most fearful tend to be the most aggressive. When someone timid learns to challenge them, they crumble or get aggressive. Either way, their inner equilibrium has been destroyed. You are the accidental cause of their disempowerment. It is a state they have feared for all their life and avoided.
Stepping out of emotional investment with this person is not easy, but it is liberating. Well done!
Be gentle with yourself and forgive yourself for your fears.
This is a blog post on telling yourself you should do something
– and why it’s not always in your own best interest.
Check out Martin Butler’s web site for the philosophies of Spinoza and more
Do you value success as our society defines it more than being happy? If so, join the rest of the monkeys lying, cheating, and stealing. But if you want to be happy and healthy, then read this article. You will discover why smart people are not successful.
In today’s competitive society, the most-wanted and most-valued people are the ones with the highest IQs. The idea is that they will be brilliant and have a lot of potential in life. Unfortunately, IQ is not a template for success. The logical and rational thinking qualities of a person are also relevant. The world is full of exceptional people, and many of them are not successful. For instance, Albert Einstein, the smartest man ever lived, felt he was not successful in his own life. He had huge self-doubt. For this reason, he felt lonely because he could never understand what makes other people happy.
Success is subjective, so the definition of success can vary from person to person. According to dictionary.com, success is a favorable or prosperous outcome: the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like. Achieving this definition can be disturbing. Some people are happy while others are not. Why is happiness not success? Achieving success creates another problem because it is both relative and competitive with other people.
Einstein himself said that “everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” In other words, to be smart, you must spend time thinking and analyzing everything. This notion can prevent you from becoming successful in others’ eyes. They may consider you to be a social outcast and a geek. This external judgment can also keep you from forming and expressing your truth. Because your mind will want to go back to what everyone else says, thinks, and does. In Einstein’s case, his mind went back to ethics. He stated that “Without ‘ethical culture,’ there is no salvation for humanity.” Although brilliant in his field, his success was limited in other areas. He was a founding member of the German Democratic Party, and later had leanings towards Baruch Spinoza’s philosophy. Therefore, he determined success as someone of value rather than wealth. There are many famous quotes by Einstein to look up on this.
Happiness is subjective as well. Based on personal values, beliefs, and experiences, it is essential to a person. Psychology Today says it is different for each one of us because definitions depend on our situation and values. You can realize happiness at any point in time. But rarely will you have a perfect life or moment when you are happy all the time. In conclusion, it is useful to understand that success and happiness are not linear. Both can go up, down, or sideways depending on your mood, actions you take, and other factors.
This article’s purpose is to show that intelligence is only one piece in the puzzle that determines success. Other factors, such as effort expended to achieve your aims and life goals, also decide on so-called success in life. Yet this may still be a success as measured by society, not our personal idea of success. If we look at the list of Einstein’s failures, it will be noticeably short. He had a good IQ and had many ideas, and he was intelligent. But he failed to reach the success that he felt everyone else achieved at that time. When it comes to success, what is important is not necessarily your IQ. It is also your goals, your knowledge and how much energy you are willing to put into your work. Although, the real question to ask yourself is whether this success also achieves happiness in your life.
In his book “Think and Grow Rich,” Napoleon Hill said that “the more you get out of life than you put in, the more success you will have.” The statement suggests that success depends on how much effort or energy we are willing to invest.
To understand this point, let’s take a quick look at where people are right now in society. And consider how this will change by 2030. The data of the current social status of the American population comes from the following indicators:
Average income: $49,764
Median household income: $61,372
Number of unemployed persons aged 16 and older: 9.7 million or 10.7%
Percentage of children in poverty (under age 18): 17.7%
The poverty threshold for a family of four: $26,500
As can be seen from the above data, many people in America are well below what is called successful. Meanwhile, there are increasing numbers of billionaires cropping un on this planet. In 2030, most American people will be relatively less wealthy than they are today. Only a tiny percentage of people will still be leading amazingly comfortable lives. Others will not have a chance to lead a life at all. Life has become more difficult. It is not just money, but also about health and happiness that determine success in life. Without even one of the three, your success in life is compromised. Income and quality of life are real issues for many when it comes to being successful. Money increases the quality of life. For many being smart doesn’t even enter it.
It is worth noting that this trend is not limited to America. Artificial intelligence or robots are automating jobs. These robots have already taken over millions of jobs in manufacturing, transportation, and other industries. The world’s largest retailer, Alibaba Group, is using robots to pack and ship products by recognizing a customer’s needs.
Let’s now look at some of the most financially successful people in history.
Bill Gates, a co-founder of Microsoft Corporation, is one of the most notable figures in modern history. He is listed among the world’s wealthiest people and has been called “the man who saved capitalism.”
Steve Jobs, the co-founder, and CEO of Apple Inc., became financially dominant due to his iPhone and iPad inventions. He is one of the most successful people in modern history.
Warren Buffet, an investment guru, is another phenomenally successful person because he made billions of dollars from his investments. He now ranks among the wealthiest people on earth.
Elon Musk, a driverless car pioneer and owner of Tesla Motors Inc., is also one of the world’s most successful people.
Jeff Bezos is a business magnate and founder of Amazon. He currently ranks among the world’s top five wealthiest people.
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook Inc., is one person who became a billionaire at 23 years of age.
Overall, we can infer from these examples that becoming successful is easier than it seems. It does not take a genius or natural talent. Instead, it just takes luck, hard work, and determination to achieve your goals. More importantly, it takes knowing what your goals are. Being in the right place at the right time is a highly significant factor behind financial success. Big technology earnings are getting continually richer.
Bitcoin may generate a new breed of financially successful people. These people will mainly gain from being in the right place at the right time.
So, if these people didn’t have high IQs, what enabled them to become successful? Also, why did Einstein feel he was a failure and was unable to appreciate his success?
If we dig deeper into this question, we may find that the difference is how much effort they exerted in achieving their goals. As we all know, nothing comes easy in life. Whether you are an ordinary person or a genius like Einstein, you must work hard to get good grades and get a job that pays well. Yet in the future, this may not be enough. What Einstein did to become successful was not necessarily the wisest choice. He just focused on his interest in mathematics and physics. Because of this he failed to understand the nature of humanity. That humanity created the atom bomb using his research. His simple equation of E = mc2 created the most destructive human force on the planet. So, beware of seeking success blindly as it can bring about personal emotional destruction.
At the same time, it is universally accepted among employers that people interested in a subject better perform their jobs. Those who are not interested tend to underperform. For instance, if you like working with teenagers, you will better understand them. Compare this to someone whose specialty is not education or teaching. It is regrettable to see that many people today are not interested in something. They may take up a particular subject because it seems attractive to them. However, they may not put enough effort into their goals. It is vital for those who want to achieve something to put more effort into what they are doing.
Your future depends on co-existence of success and humanity.
I have also noticed that the most challenging part of achieving one’s goals happens not at the beginning. But during the middle and latter part of the endeavor. It would help if you thought about these points when you are trying to get your goals accomplished. Anyone can learn to like something they are good at. So, why toil at something you love if it does not serve you in any way. You will eventually learn to resent it. Loving music doesn’t make you a good musician. It can make you a frustrated and angry person. Especially when the piece you produce is continually below your expectations.
Satisfaction in doing something well creates dopamine, serotonin, endorphin, oxytocin, or the ‘happy’ chemicals. Adrenaline, cortisol, and norepinephrine respond to stress and cause us to go into fight or flight mode. A small amount of the stress hormones can help you concentrate. Although, an excess of these chemicals will turn you into a raging tiger and may cause you severe physical consequences.
It is also important to note that Einstein was not born a genius. He became a genius because he worked extremely hard at his goals and was able to achieve them. You may be wondering what I mean by this. Sometimes, people are born with talents and abilities that easily allow them to achieve their goals. However, those talents don’t always make people successful.
Take, for example, Mozart or Michelangelo, who were both prodigies in the arts. Mozart was a genius whose talent made him successful as a composer. He was good at what made him successful.
It is useful to remember that it is not enough to be born with good abilities in a specific area. Because you still need to work hard at achieving your goals. Even top athletes need to train to achieve gold medals. The more you work and put effort into your objective, the easier it gets. This is the way to succeed at something.
I have noticed one thing that helps people achieve their goals is doing more than they are comfortable with. So, if you feel comfortable getting stuck in your comfort zone, it is a good idea to do less of that. Go for more challenging things instead.
Here I want to stress what I consider the single most crucial factor for success. It’s about taking small steps towards one’s goals and becoming more confident along the way.
“If you believe, you can achieve.”
To achieve the things we want to achieve, we need to have a vision of what we want to achieve. We also need to know why we want it. Achieving your goals is not as hard as it seems at first. You need to unleash your inner power and understanding. Then apply some basic lessons you’ve learned along the way. There are some challenges on the list that may currently be beyond your present capabilities. So, work on them step by step to reach the ultimate goal. Even if for a brief moment, take pride in doing simple things well. This effort will build your confidence to do more things.
Note that many of these tasks require extra effort, which is necessary to become an expert. Unless you have a passion for learning new stuff, pick one undertaking and do it as best as you can. In the end, you might be surprised to know that it’s not such a difficult thing to do.
“…our limitations are often more about our beliefs than our abilities.”
People have different values in life. The things that matter to them may not matter to you. What you consider as success may not be the same as what others regard as success. As mentioned earlier, “success” is relative and subject to one’s opinion.
What improves your quality of life is the decisions that make you happy and contented.
“Hard work produces results, but people who work hard and are happy do more work and get more results than those who are not.”
If you want to be successful, it is vital to consider giving up what you love most. If what you love does not benefit you, it will drain your resources and you will grow to hate it. Kill your best-loved projects if they do not serve you. Work hard at your goals, and when committed, that concentration fulfills you. Then there is a strong chance that you will achieve your goal happily when the time comes.
Being happy in life means being content with what we have and now and being passionate in our striving.
Learn What You Are Good At
Practice Getting Better At It
Become Passionate About It
Challenge Your Comfort Zone
Follow Your Own Path, Not The Herd
Be Lucky
Control is an illusion. It’s the idea that you only have power over your life because of your decisions and subsequent actions. I learned this was wrong after years of struggling with self-control and trying to be a different person. We do this to fit into the world or to achieve something. You can work hard all day, resist temptations, and make all the right choices. But you can still fail miserably if you don’t understand this truth about life.
Don’t be discouraged by this, because I have been there. I have learned how to live a better life by not letting others into my head. The world wants you to believe that everything is out of your control. Your mind and most people’s efforts are there to convince you of this. When you don’t listen to them, the only thing that matters in life is how much you enjoy it. Control is inappropriate when considering these things.
You do not have to win every battle to win the war. You can’t always control every situation. Nor can you force someone to love you or change your environment completely. But you can learn how to deal with it if things don’t work out how you would like. Drop expectations and embrace possibilities. In time you will find that you can do more than you are doing now.
You can only live in the present – forget the past and don’t worry about the future. If you act now, then it will lead to other actions in life. You cannot control your next step. And sometimes, when we try too hard, we make things worse. So, observe when these occasions occur but don’t overthink beforehand.
When you make a change, it’s helpful to understand that you will never win every battle. If you did, you would become bored by life and always be looking for another challenge. It’s like fighting a war – you are never going to win it. When you fight something, it fights back. Instead of fighting, we can learn to accept that things will change. And we can allow life to move on naturally. There can be absolute joy in observing the outcomes. Going with them rather than fighting every step of the way can be so rewarding.
We can influence the future by acting in the present. Being the master of your destiny by following your desire is like going on a walk you have never been on before. It is one where you can see the wonder around you at every step you take. Spinoza said, ‘The whole universe is the manifestation of thought.’
When you understand that control is an illusion, you realize that your actions and thoughts are the only things you can control. You can adequately control these by being present in every moment of your life. You cannot always control nature, but you can learn to live with it. If you face something that you don’t like, then accept it and move on with joy.
Learn to say no to things that you don’t want to do. You can only do so much, and at some point, you have to say enough is enough. It doesn’t make you a bad person or a failure. Instead, it makes you more likable as you are kinder and more thoughtful towards yourself. This way, you can be authentic towards others as well as yourself. If you feel stuck in life, then remember there is always a way out. Ask yourself what it might be?
You cannot control anything as everything happens as it does and could never happen in any other way. But if you organize some small area around you or perform some behavior with no goal other than doing it for yourself. This act can give you the illusion of control. We all like to feel in control. But sometimes we must face the fact that nothing is under our control, and that’s OK.
You can’t stop things from changing; you can only adapt to change as it happens. You don’t have to worry because you cannot avoid change. It will happen anyway – so why resist?
To achieve peace, observe what you do want. Self-observation is less likely to take you into fear. When you think negatively and are in fear, you focus on what you don’t want. That focus on the negative and judging everything negatively is being in the world of inadequacy.
Just as a wise person does not make judgments and instead makes observations, we cannot judge. We don’t know the context in which someone decides. It’s like judging someone for cutting off in traffic. They might be unaware of what is around them at the time because of some internal conflict. If you make efforts to understand yourself, what goes on outside you is less significant. You will be less dependent on judging others for your expectation of their responses.
How can I increase my money and power? There are very few things in life that give us real power. Power is an inner sense of completeness. When we are in our power, we do not look for external sources for fulfilment.
Many gurus talk about seeking happiness through your passions. This idea is inadequate because your passions are your emotions and your emotions vary from moment to moment, so there is nothing stable about them. There is a popular idea that we need to follow our passions, yet our passions come from our desires and are in the head (imagination), they route themselves through the emotions to dictate success and failure. As a result, you are in a state of judgment that sets you up for failure.
Successful people say follow your passions but are leading you to a dead end. People who do well and become billionaires without being born with a silver spoon in their mouths find something they are good at and hone their skill at it. If you are doing something you are good at, and practicing doing it better, your marketability improves. This rule is a law of capitalism. Doing more of what you excel at makes you money and can lead to success.
Passion is a short circuit through the emotions. When you are good at something and do it well, you develop a passion for it. Not the other way around.
So, if you want power, find something you are good at. From that base of skill, increase your knowledge and proficiency by spending hours on improving your competence in that area, so you become progressively excellent at that activity.
The financial benefits of this are exponential, as is the sense of self-worth. No one grows up wanting to make boxes, yet I know of one man who has become a billionaire from doing just that because he started a kitchen company – making boxes.
Reason is the skill to focus on something you are good at and maximize it to enhance your survival. You will become passionate about anything at which you transcend others. It’s that easy.
It applies equally to acting, drawing, working out, and everything else. Because you are good at what you do, you get to do exciting things, making you even more passionate about what you do.
List the things you want, what are they? Are they making money, being creative, or what? One desire, making money, is an ultimate desire as it increases your will to life and power.
For example, are you passionate about drawing? If so, are you good at it? If you don’t know, find out. Is this how you want to make your money? If it is, then that requires effort, training, and the use of reason.
Anything can be a passion. If you are good at something you can be passionate about it because it gives you power. So if you want to be successful and empowered, do what you are good at, passion and desire will arise out of the pleasure in your ability.
You might also be interested in this YouTube channel
Gain power over yourself. Because people trying to control and gain power over you are ‘asleep’ they are unaware of what they are doing. They behave from imagination and emotions, not reality. There is nothing you can do to change or help them, what you can do is be there for yourself and ensure that they don’t rob you of your power, because that’s what they’re trying to do. They’re trying to fill the void inside themselves with the power that they see in you, which is essentially stealing your power.
Simply observe it and do nothing.
Money is a way to gain power and it frees you from the worry of not having enough. As you become aware that money is important because it increases your power, you will also understand that having a need for approval from others is dis-empowering.
Typically women seek power, they tend to seek their own power advantage through a man. Therefore, they use men for one of two things, either to enhance their power through his power, or to use him as some form of a servant to put them on a pedestal and fawn around them.
Generally a man seeks to demonstrate his power through overpowering other men and displaying his assets of power over them. For example, a nice car, a mansion, or a yacht, all evoke envy. Women are simply sexual releases, reproduction tools, and display items.
Both men and women gain power through lies, cheating and stealing.
People who are empowered do not need to use others. They have themselves and understanding. To be empowered is to be in pleasure and as you increase your power, so you increase your pleasure.
You still get pain in life because pain is a necessary part of life, but pleasures can be incremental with power. So ultimately, money is power, money is the will to life, money is your desire to have power.
There are many ways to gain power, through money, influence, trading, a business, fame, and I am sure you can think of more here. Even the professed New Age guru desires money and power, they just try to cover it up through manipulation.
Desire is the only thing that can excite your emotions, mind, and body. Without desire you would be a lifeless thing not even bothering to eat or perform the most basic functions necessary for life. Every cell in your body is driven by desire, the most fundamental desire is to continue living and the most absolute way to enhance your life is to have the resources that give you power, with humans that is money and sex.
We can find many ways to achieve power, yet the only power that is of lasting value is the one you have within yourself that has no connection with the outside world.
This work can be exhausting when you make a breakthrough, like any form of training. But the exchange of power for POWER when you have a breakthrough empowers you. It may drains you temporarily, because the effort you have expended in achieving this breakthrough has used physical energy. This energy can be regained and is worth losing a little of this power to gain a big POWER.
More about Power on this website:
Power
Why is the heart of practice important? Well it all depends on what you want. If you simply want knowledge of the works of the greats like Spinoza and Schopenhauer, then practice is irrelevant. However, if you have a quest for inner freedom then practice is everything. And don’t underestimate the term “inner freedom” because with it comes love and joy. Only a free person can love consciously.
In the Heart of Practice, understanding and practice are intimately linked. We only learn, really learn, by doing things, and understanding grows through practice. The other side of the coin is that practice is meaningless without understanding. Only through understanding can we acquire the persistence to carry on with practice when we would rather not.
In the words of Gurdjieff, a person can know a great deal but be incapable of doing anything, and on the other hand it is possible for a person to be able to do things but not know what is useful.
So, the heart of practice consists of understanding and the ability to do. As such there is a three-step process that is a highly condensed version of methods taken from various traditions, including zen, Gurdjieff and Spinoza.
Oddly enough it is very common for people to have very little sense of their body, and for some people none at all. Since our attention is naturally drawn to external events and things, the act of moving the attention to our body requires effort and is against nature. All nature requires is that our attention serves the continued existence of the body and procreation – work, shelter, food, a mate, family, acquiring stuff, displays of power, and so on. We need to sense the body because this is where our emotions are held. If we are insensitive to our body, we will be unaware of our emotional state.
Extreme emotions make themselves known, but the subtle everyday emotional states and moods slide under the radar unless we become sensitive to bodily states. There is a well-known morning exercise that
goes back to Bodhidharma in the fifth century, and probably even before then.
Gurdjieff popularized it in the last century, but it is not new. At first this practice may seem difficult, but with persistence we become more able to sense the various parts of the body. This is a prerequisite for self-observation. We can only observe if there is something to observe. Without a good sense of the
body it is just too easy to fall into imagination.
Self-observation is primarily an act of placing the attention on the body and assessing how it feels. We can also choose to observe thoughts, but this is less effective, and not least because we lie to ourselves. It is just too easy to pretend that we are all sweetness and light, when in reality we are a boiling pot of resentment. To get to know our real state we need to focus on the body. This will tell us what is real instead of what is imagined.
So having established the ability to sense the body we need to start taking snapshots of what is happening on a regular basis – several times a day if possible. So the act of observation goes like this. We sense the body and feel the tensions within it. Emotions are always held as tensions. Right now as I type this I can sense tension around my solar plexus. This is impatience, and the desire to produce this document as quickly as possible.
In Spinoza’s terminology it would be called ambition. In any case it needs to be stressed that recognition of an emotional state does not mean we should try and change it – that comes later. We need to acquire the skill of non-judgmental observation – simply sensing and acknowledging what is going on without any desire to change it. This is much more difficult than it sounds because we have decades of conditioning. Having been told that anger is a bad thing for example, we might be heavily programmed not to see it in the first place, and when seen to try and pretend we are not angry.
To observe without intervention is a priceless skill. It allows us to see the truth, and to achieve it we have to gradually drop a great deal of conditioning. Non-judgement or attempts at non-judgement
will bring our judgemental inner nature to the surface.
Most of us cannot do this kind of thing without outside help. We lie to ourselves and our inner censor means we often cannot see what is actually going on. Various
traditions might help here. A quality Gurdjieff group might help, although most Gurdjieff groups have no real knowledge. Western therapeutic methods might also
help, and particularly Gestalt.
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. – Proverbs, The Bible
Understanding is power. At the mundane level, understanding that thunder is not the anger of the Gods diminishes fear and dread. Understanding is the third part of the quest for greater inner freedom. We cannot observe if there is no sense of the body, and we cannot understand unless we have observational data to work with.
Simply reading books and listening to commentators might create knowledge, but it does not produce understanding.
We need to study how we work and see those dynamics in action if we are to gain understanding. This is where, in my opinion, Spinoza gives most clarity, although various other philosophers and sages have communicated insights too (Buddha, Schopenhauer). If you want to know what you are you need look no further than these great thinkers. We are desire.
Spinoza states quite explicitly that “the essence of man is desire”, and the root of all desire is the desire to persist in our existence. There is a well-known quote that comes from Zen Buddhism that all our suffering comes from our desire to exist. It is saying the same thing. All your emotions derive from a single root – the desire to continue existing. If anything threatens your existence you will feel diminished in some way resulting in any number of “negative” emotions – fear, anxiety, hatred, envy, derision, despair and so on.
Similarly if things are going well you will experience “positive“emotions – joy, excitement, love, hope and so on. In reality all of these emotions are passive – they just happen – you are just a hostage to fortune, hoping for the positive and dreading the negative. What if we could create our own inner source of pleasure and joy – the inner freedom and strength to ride through the storms and the good times with equanimity?
This is what we can achieve through understanding. But a word of warning. The only road to heaven passes straight through Hell.
Master your inner power to be in your prime when you leave your body behind, not in a state of fear or apology. Most people develop and gain fear as they go through life. Yet life is a race and the goal is death. This may not be a pleasant truth, but the truth it is.
We do not go to our end as a victim when we have run a good race. To run a good race we need to have lived a good life, not being hidden from life by avoiding uncomfortable sensations thoughts and emotions. Only understanding will help you to run a good race. We can only run a good race by encountering obstacles and overcoming them. That’s why life is more suited to the successful. They grasp life and take from it. Those who are not successful can find many reasons for their lack of attainment. It’s always something or somebody else’s fault. Being a victim is an excellent way of avoiding the work required to understand.
Success, as mentioned here, is not the same for everyone. Some want to be rich, famous, powerful and admired. Others see success in other ways, by being generous, kind, loving and compassionate. Yet it’s all the same thing, ambition.
So how do we understand ambition? When ambition diminishes our lives and reduces our power we feel helpless and are overcome by lack of understanding. How do we understand power and as such use it to our own advantage?
Even if we believe we want to use it to the advantage of others, it’s still an advantage, and that is primary in this work. Understanding to gain advantage over the sleep and passivity of life, helplessness and depression. Working for personal sovereignty is important, no, it is essential. It is far more comfortable to sit in self-pity and misery than face the truth and become powerful.
So, doing this work is majoring in power in order to win the race called life. Power is attained through understanding, not change. Understanding is a one-trick pony, because understanding is the only pony to ride to attain freedom from the burdens that hold you back.
We are here to become masters of ‘life,’ not of woo woo, spirit or souls, but to master ‘life’ as it is given or lived. What was before and what may be after is of no concern to the human being. In fact, it is an offense to ‘God’ to even go there. We are given life to master it. Which we do through understanding. Understanding is dangerous as it destroys all the false paper castles we have built to sustain us and keep us from the fear of reality. But – what if our goal became to see the truth in all its ugliness and not get devoured by the suffering and the injustice of it all, but to live our ultimate life so that we will be successful in our own undertakings.
This work gives you the power to do just that. You want to be a world leader? – you can! Just be aware that through understanding, you will see it for the fake that it is. When you understand pleasure and pain, you will understand what your life needs to be to maximize your pleasure and minimize your pain. Should you change? – No! Because the understanding itself will transform things around you as you become more ‘you’ without self-rejection or self-deception. You will see things exactly as they are, you will understand other people’s motives, your own motives, how and why things are as they are, but most of all, you will gain inner peace.
If you neglect yourself, that is communicating to others that you don’t care about yourself, but you also don’t care about them and everybody else. Sometimes when we neglect ourselves it is because we want others to take care of us, yet the person who should be taking care of yourself is you. Other people’s duties are themselves, not you and your duty of care is to yourself. Therefore, being self-conscious about your looks is a very strong thing. Those who care about their outward appearance also care about their inward appearance to themselves. When you fail to take care of your outward appearance, you are also failing to take care of your inner self.
When you try to comply with society, you’ll stick to safety in your appearance. You will not reflect who you truly are and will not be true to yourself. You will simply be yet another clone walking the street. Self-expression can be demonstrated in many ways, one of them is reflected in your appearance. The most important person that you want to impress is yourself. When you look good, you feel good and you feel confident. Therefore, the aim of self-care in appearance, as well as health and other aspects of self-worthiness, reflects how you feel about yourself. People with confident will always reflect confidence. This is why you typically see the wealthy and the famous wearing immaculate suits and shiny shoes. They have confidence. Your appearance reflects how you feel about yourself. When you have confidence, you not only feel it inside, but you reflect it externally.
Being self-conscious about your looks is a very strong thing in people. Most people are desperate to make a good image in public, so they stick to safety in dress and in other aspects of grooming. This usually means conforming to a stereotype that we think others will find acceptable. The pain of being boxed in is isolation. Although we appear to shine outside, inside we feel inadequate and bad about ourselves because we are not being ourselves. Instead, we are being a clone that fits into the box we are given. At the end of the day, you only have yourself, so it’s important to put yourself to the top of the pile. If you don’t, nobody else will and you will stay feeling inadequate and not measuring up.
Feeling good about yourself is something only you can do for yourself. It takes understanding who you are and being able to embrace yourself as you are. Give yourself the ‘wow’ factor by taking care of yourself first and not others. If you put yourself first, you can help others. Yet if you put them first, you have nothing left for you and ultimately that means nothing left for them either. You’ll be surprised at how well others will receive the new confident ‘you’.
We all have difficulties in life. No one is immune, yet we can thrive despite them. Understanding yourself empowers you to be yourself. Being OK with yourself is the most important gift you can give to yourself and others.
We are conditioned to conform and be good members of society. But at what cost? The true cost of fitting in is to contort ourselves in so many ways that eventually become unbearable and the prison we’re in has to break. When this happens we’re usually at a loss and keep turning in circles, ending up at the same point where we started. With understanding about suffering, what causes us pain and what causes us pleasure, we’re able to work through it and achieve peace.
Families are a strong source of conditioning. Everyone in a family feels that their needs have to be met. Though they’re not listening to one another so no one’s needs are met. They talk behind each other’s backs and each family member has a fixed expectation. Once cast in a role, it’s almost impossible to escape. It can be very painful when your needs are not met and there are constant demands made of you.
Negotiating your needs is very tricky. People are used to you in your role, they don’t want to make changes. If that’s OK with you, then stay as you are.
Alternatively, there is a way to deal with improving your situation and having your needs met. Like anything worth having, this means effort on your part. You can’t magic up a hero who will do it all for you – you are that hero!
Start by letting others know that you’re not OK with the way things are. Let them know what your needs are. Communicate simple needs at first, because any need will be seen as a challenge. Once you get that need met, allow others to get used to your new position before attempting to make other changes. If they will not listen or think things are OK as they are – that’s because they are – for them, not for you. This is when you realize that there is no one other than you who is going to improve things for you.
Let’s get your needs met!