Hey Vitalists!
Last night Katya stumbled on a book called “The Black Book Volume II” by Christopher Hyatt. His tone is quite discordian, but sometimes discord can be the right medicine in cleansing an old stagnative mindset. I wanted to post this excerpt about finding “Enlightenment”, which to me is less of a single state of being, and more of “the art of becoming more than you are now”.
It reminds me of this quote by Einstein: “Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.”
An excerpt of Christopher Hyatt:
To know enlightenment, not to just know OF it
You must give up the thing most precious to you.
You must give up the thing which you love so dearly,
the thing that you hold on to.
You must give it up
There can be no half-way measures in “finding” enlightenment
It is not hiding anywhere.
It is HERE and NOW.
You must see that you are frightened,
that something is at stake all the time
even in your dreams, something is at stake…
ALL THE TIME
Everything which shocks you,
disrupts you, disturbs you, can be your friend.
Everything which allows you to sleep, to be complacent,
hinders you.
To become in Accordance with your TRUE POTENTIAL
you must be in Discordance with yourself.
YOU… ARE AT STAKE ALL THE TIME
AND YOU LOOK FOR FOOD WHICH FEEDS YOU
—————
Christopher went on to explain that though we seek change in our lives, we regularly become stuck in our own martyrdom of misery, regret and bitter justification. We play the blame game with our past and present. We complaining to others, sucking them into our maze of procrastination. This only keeps the vicious cycle going. Snapping out of this zombie brain-fog needs to be a daily routine.
He went on to say that the quickest way around this loop is to wake up in the morning, fresh from rest, take 15 to 30 minutes to exercise “not thinking anything” to consciously reboot your perspective. Upon waking is the best time to prevent thoughts and emotions from skipping like broken records from the moment we wake up. After adopting this, you might notice a lighter attitude stays with you for hours after.
Remember Einstein, “If you want to solve the problem, first change the level of thinking that created it, then troubleshoot.” How? Most of us don’t know how to change our level of thinking. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. One simply needs to learn how to dismantle the one they’re currently using (without anticipating another, it will arrive automatically)
Side note: Taking time to exercise management of your thoughts does not mean demons will possess the “silence mental space” you created. This is a very pre-scientific, outdated and very medieval superstition and they made a lot of these assumptions back then. In the last 100 years, science has proven hundreds of physiological and psychological health benefits result from practicing meditation regularly.
If you do feel possessed by a less than savory thought, it was already inside you. Meditation finally allowed it to come to the surface. Demons are simply another name for thoughts, right? So the best thing to do with them, is patiently observe them. Be compassionate with yourself. If a thought isn’t resourceful or if it feels ‘dark’, let them go, one by one, as Christopher suggested.
Your thoughts pave the path under your feet as you walk into your future. The sooner you can learn to consciously manage them, the sooner you will consciously manage your life’s direction as well. Try it out! And if you don’t know how [meditate], ask us how on our facebook page. We’ll be glad to share the technique we use.
To your Vitality!
Matt & Katya
Vitality Advocate is a video blog where you will find tips and insights regarding strength, health, nutrition, and motivation for personal improvement. 