Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A Dream Life
A Dream Life
FOREWORD ................................................................................................................................................... 3
HOW TO BE HAPPY........................................................................................................................................ 4
HOW TO DEAL WITH CRITICISM.................................................................................................................... 7
HOW TO OVERCOME DISTRACTIONS.......................................................................................................... 11
HOW TO SET AND ACHIEVE GOALS............................................................................................................. 15
HOW TO OVERCOME SELF-DOUBT ............................................................................................................. 19
HOW TO BE POSITIVE .................................................................................................................................. 23
HOW TO COME OUT OF NEGATIVITY.......................................................................................................... 26
HOW TO OVERCOME NEGATIVE THOUGHTS.............................................................................................. 30
HOW TO BE DISCIPLINED ............................................................................................................................ 32
EARN SOME GOOD KARMA ........................................................................................................................ 35
© 2012 Om Swami.
Go to omswami.com for more.
FOREWORD
You are a product of your emotions, desires, thoughts, tendencies
and karma. If you can strengthen the person within you, if you can
be positive, disciplined, emotionally free, you can be whatever you
want.
Peace.
Swami
omswami.com
HOW TO BE HAPPY
Human life is like a pendulum. It is dangling and tossing between
the positive and the negative, good and bad, right and wrong, the
true and the false, highs and lows, thick and thin, and a whole
heap of other dualities. All that is subjective, however. It cannot
affect you unless you let it. Let me narrate a little story to you:
One day he approached his guru and confessed his inner turmoil
and restlessness. His master listened patiently and gave him a key
and directions to a certain room.
"Go and meditate there for three days unmoving. Leave the door
open and maintain silence. The truth will dawn on you," the
master instructed.
He obeyed his guru and went to the place to meditate. Much to his
dismay, it was in a market, next to a busy hallway, in the center of
a crowded city. He was skeptical about meditating in a noisy place
for inner quietude. Nevertheless, he proceeded. As soon as he
unlocked the door, a nauseating stench greeted him. He soon
realized that there was a toilet just above the room. For a moment
he felt crossed with his guru. Then again, the guru must have a
reason he thought.
The room was unclean, without any windows, and looked like an
abandoned shop. There was seepage on the walls and the ground
was somewhat wet. The waste pipe above was leaking. He
assumed lotus position and sat down to meditate. Every so often,
he could hear the sound of flushing toilet. He understood that he
was meditating directly below a public toilet. His restlessness only
built up more.
A million worries engulfed him. He was concerned what if the
pipe above him burst, what all people, who were passing by,
talked about him, how would he know that seventy two hours had
passed, what if he fainted from the stench, what if he someone
came and interrupted his meditation mid-way and so on.
On the third day, while he was engrossed in such thoughts, the
plumbing above him burst and fecal matter fell on his head.
Before he could determine his next step, two men walked by.
"Who is this man?" one asked in disgust seeing the monk smeared
in excreta.
"God knows! Some claim he is a holy man while many say he is
full of crap. "
Know when, what, and where to keep versus let go. Such
knowledge comes with practice, with awareness. It is about
attitude and outlook. This is the journey of turning inward.
***
HOW TO DEAL WITH CRITICISM
It is inevitable; criticism. It is always an opinion of the other
person. If you agree with their judgment, their criticism may
prompt you to improve yourself. However, if you disagree, you
may be embracing negativity. Negative emotions weaken you.
Sometimes, it can be hard to deal with criticism, especially if it
comes from your loved ones. When others try to unload their
negativity and opinions onto you, at that moment, you have a
choice, an option to reject, to discard, to let go. If you can let go,
you will remain peaceful; your heart will not be wounded,
certainly not as much. Let me share a story with you:
When the Roshi bowed before the statue, the professor could no
longer contain himself and blurted out, "This man you idolize, he
burned and spat on Buddha statues! Why do you bow before
him?"
"If you want to spit, you spit," replied the Roshi calmly, "I prefer
to bow. "
There you go! Whether you spit or bow is your choice, and
whether they bow or spit is their choice. You exercise yours and
let them exercise theirs. I am reminded of a quote, "Those who
love you don't need an explanation, and those who don't are not
going to believe one anyway. " When you are offered criticism,
you may choose to clarify your position, only if you truly wish to
do that. You may wish to reflect on it, for, such criticism may even
be true. Beyond that, do not cause yourself grief by brooding over
others' thoughts and opinions. Reject it. Promptly.
Just like upon boarding a plane your destiny is in the hands of the
pilot, when you take the flight of an argument, it is no longer
about you alone. If you choose to react or respond to criticism in
kind, you have just procreated a new entity of disharmony and
negativity, you have already boarded at that time. The control is
less and less in your hands. You may unnaturally curb other
person's response if you exercise greater authority, but the
damage is already done.
How about when you are criticizing? If you are not kind enough,
big enough to appreciate what the other person is doing for you,
do not be so small to criticize either. There is a difference between
helping someone improve and being downright negative about
what they are doing. If you do not understand their point of view,
it does not mean they are wrong. Be fair. Remember the two sets
of rules?
Yes, you want to make a point. Yes, you really believe the other
person is at fault. Surely, you know what all they can do to
improve. There is no doubt in your mind that you are impartial
and your statements, genuine. The truth is, the other person feels
exactly the same about herself.
***
HOW TO OVERCOME DISTRACTIONS
Many a times people are unable to carry out their resolve, their
vow, to work right to the end, till their goal is accomplished. They
are motivated, they have wisdom, resources, capability, yet they
let distractions overpower them. Such distractions that cause a
tide of emotions to rise, a tsunami of desires, shaking
their resolve and crushing their strength to stay course, to stay
firm. Yogic and Vedic texts talk a great deal about vikṣiptatā,
distractions, and how they are great obstacles. They can make all
the difference between winning and losing, between success and
failure.
Do you know who is your greatest friend, the one who can always
stand by you and help you make the right decisions and make sure
you tread the noble path? You. And your worst enemy? You.
***
HOW TO SET AND ACHIEVE GOALS
On a gorgeous sunny day, under the soft winter sun, Mullah
Nasrudin and his best friend were lying on the plush bed of green
grass in a stately garden. They were enjoying the sun bath. Trees
stood gracefully in an organized fashion as if forming a natural
boundary of the garden, they were arching over the pathways.
Blooming flowers of various hues made the place look like a
Floriade. Bees were hopping from one flower to an another. Birds
were unobtrusively tweeting and singing in the trees. Warm
breeze caressed and massaged them as it traveled intermittently,
as if playing hide and seek. It was peaceful and serene.
"Nope. Not even for the combined wealth of the whole world
would I give this up!"
"Well, how about three? I can give you three dollars right now to
leave this place. "
Dreams are many, but goals are those dreams that you believe to
be real, feasible, those dreams that you prioritize. Imagine a kid in
a candy store, she wants to have everything. But she must pick
and choose based on what all is allowed or affordable. From the
store of your dreams, pick the ones you cannot be without.
Prioritize your goals and align your actions. Achieving each goal
requires time and efforts. If you can be infinitely patient and
eternally persistent, you can attain even the most extraordinary
goals. You can dream as big as you like, especially if it helps you
stay motivated, but you need to be realistic about your goals if you
are serious about their attainment. First you define your goals and
then they define you.
***
HOW TO OVERCOME SELF-DOUBT
Most have it some of the time and some have it most of the time,
self-doubt. It is a byproduct of fear, fear of failure, of losing, of
non-achievement. It is not always something you can just brush
aside. Sometimes, it is borne out of a reasonable conclusion, a
logical construct, a valid assessment. It may well be a state of
mind acquired after cogitation. Ignoring your fear does not dispel
it. False assurance does not remove the possibility of failure, and
lack of success in your endeavor will lead to deeper fear and
greater self-doubt. So, what causes self-doubt and what can you
do about it? Keep reading.
1. Based on Non-Action
For example, a university student did not pay attention to his
studies, he lagged behind in his coursework, and in a week from
now are his exams. He is rushing to cover his syllabus but remains
worried and doubtful about his passing the exams. He sits down
to study but can no longer concentrate or persist because he has
developed this fear of failure.
For example, let us say, years ago, you tried to lose weight. You
were supposed to control your diet and spend four hours at the
gym every week. Disregarding the discipline, you did not work as
planned, you went to the gym for six days in a row one week and
only once the next. The weighing scale did not budge from its
original reading. You started to lose interest and began doubting if
you would ever be able to lose weight. And one day, you gave up
and went back to your old lifestyle, causing even more damage to
your physical and mental well being.
When you allow yourself to fail, you weaken your mind, especially
if you were not honest with yourself. Fear, doubt and other
negative emotions thrive in a weak mind. If your sense of self-
doubt is based on your failure in the past, all you have to do is
reflect on the reasons of your failure. If you do not repeat the past
actions, past results will not manifest. History can only repeat
itself if you start living a historical present.
Einstein once said, "Insanity is to keep doing the same thing but
expect different results. "
Take it easy. Do not spend your time brooding over past, over-
anticipating your future or making elaborate plans devoid of
action. It is a precious life, do something priceless with it.
***
HOW TO BE POSITIVE
There was a man once. He was always positive. Whenever
anything untoward happened, his response would be, "It might
have been worse. " So much so that it started annoying his
friends. When one is always positive, it can get on the nerves of
the average thinkers around.
One day, a friend of his came up to him and said, "Last night I
dreamed I was driving and that I had a terrible accident. And that
every bone in my body was broken. They tried hard to revive me,
the paramedics, but they failed. They gave me electric shocks but
nothing worked. Ultimately, they pronounced me dead. The
messengers of Death came and dragged me all the way to hell.
There I was beaten badly and skinned while I felt excruciating
pain. Then they took me and put me in oil heated to top degree.
My body burned and I cried and cried but no one helped me. The
pain was like never before. I was scared when I got up. And I am
still scared now. This is a bad sign. "
"Oh, well. Don't be scared," the man said. "It might have been
worse. "
"What do you mean, it might have been worse! How could it have
been any worse?" the friend exclaimed.
If all your fears, or even majority, came to life in the past, you
have reasons to be skeptical and negative about your future, about
your goals, about yourself. However, if that is not the case,
remember that it is your mind playing tricks. Being positive does
not mean that you hide in a cocoon and hope that all good things
will happen automatically, it is about working towards your goals
regardless of what comes your way. You will emerge triumphant,
stronger and a winner.
Oscar Wilde once said, "All of us are in the gutter but some of us
are looking at the stars. "
Go on! Learn to play and play to win but win to enjoy. Do all that
positively. Chase your dreams. Today, you have the chance.
***
HOW TO COME OUT OF NEGATIVITY
Sometimes you are down, going through a phase of seemingly
endless struggle, it feels as if all your achievements, personal or
professional, in the past were fluke, as if you will never be able to
restore harmony in your life again, you remain unsure whether
the light you see at the end of tunnel is actually a ray of hope or an
oncoming train. You feel listless while life looks lackluster. Many
around you do not seem to care and most of those who do, are
unable to help you; you experience loneliness.
4. Focus on action
Irrespective of being in a struggling relationship or shattering
situation, regardless of whether you are going through a personal
turmoil or professional crisis, you can expect very little to change
without action. You must act if you want to see change. Action
diffuses negativity. When you focus on action, your situation is
bound to change.
5. Meditate
Light meditation where you consciously meditate on happy
moments, on beautiful times, on bright future, on joyous
visualizations, can make you feel positive in a matter of minutes.
The impact from any meditation is directly proportional to its
intensity, regularity and lucidity.
***
HOW TO OVERCOME NEGATIVE
THOUGHTS
A lot of the times people tell me they want to take their mind away
from negative thoughts and emotions but are not always able to
do so. In fact, more often than not such negativity or distractions
win over them causing a turmoil in their inner world of peace and
quiet. An attempt to focus on what you dislike brings you exactly
what you do not want. That is how Nature operates. Let me
explain. Your outer world is greatly affected by the state of your
inner world. Your thoughts, desires and emotions (ultimately, all
thoughts) are the building blocks of your inner world. Whether
the thought is to avoid something or to have it, that very thought
becomes the building block. When you keep your thoughts on
things or emotions you want to avoid, you can imagine what your
inner world is going to look like. Here is how to overcome
negative emotions, thoughts and distractions.
Imagine a battle. The stronger side generally wins. The side that
has greater force and more intelligence tends to overpower the
other. Between a weak and a strong, the weaker gets subdued by
the strong. That is all you need to know. When your negative
emotions or thoughts are stronger than your positive ones, they
will win over you. Till such time that you discover your natural
state of mind, a state that rises above negative or positive, you
need to list positive emotions. Think about those things and
emotions that uplift you and are stronger than the ones that make
you feel down and pensive. No matter how terrible things may be,
there is still plenty everyone has to be grateful. Being grateful for
what you have helps you to be positive and strong. Further down
the line, when we get to Emotional Transformation, I will detail
the practice of gratitude.
For now, your task is to find enough fodder for your mind that
makes it peaceful and happy. Whenever you feel down, do not
make any attempts to stave off the negativity. Just try your utmost
to focus on the positive. Consequently, negative thoughts become
greatly feeble.
***.
HOW TO BE DISCIPLINED
If we were to pinpoint one common denominator in the lives of
the greatest across the globe, the finest who walked on our planet,
the most charismatic leaders, the greatest thinkers, philosophers,
inventors, it would probably boil down to discipline. They all lived
a life of discipline, great self-discipline in fact. Discipline is the art
of staying course, of sticking to a plan, of taming your mind. It is a
skill.
You want to lose weight but you hate the thought of exercising
and you love desserts; well, exercising is not something you have
to like or dislike, eating right is not something you have to love or
hate. You just have to get on with it and do it. Conscious mind is
like the spoilt child. They may act obstinately or exhibit
misdemeanor in the presence of their own parents. But the same
kid, when he goes for a sleepover at his friend's place for instance,
will behave sweetly and nicely. He knows that no one is going to
tolerate his whimsical behavior there. The same goes for your own
mind— if you stop putting up with its misconduct, it starts
behaving. Disciplining your own mind is your personal problem
and you alone can do it.
You get up in the morning, get ready, go to work and spend your
entire day there, regardless of your prejudice or preference,
irrespective of your level of motivation; you just do it because you
know you need to do it. Your mind may not like it but it does not
complain beyond a certain degree. It knows you are giving it no
choice. The same goes for everything else. When you want to get
something done, you just have to get on with it. With discipline, as
you start to see results, you feel more motivated, enthusiastic and
positive.
Whenever you feel lazy, want to get rid of something, or, wish to
have a better future, you need to contemplate on what it is that
you have to do to achieve that and then pursue it relentlessly.
Your present circumstances are a product of your karma, desires,
emotions and beliefs, often misbeliefs. To transform yourself,
either you can work on all of them, or the root of them all, that is,
your mind, your thoughts.
Come on! get on with what you have to do. Let not your
preferences come in the way of your actions. Stop day-dreaming
or complaining. If you cannot build your own destiny, no one can
do it for you.
***
EARN SOME GOOD KARMA
Ever wonder how The Law of Attraction works? It works in
tandem with the law of karma. You always get what you give. It is
like the echo phenomenon in the mountains. It shouts back at you
whatever you say out loud. So, if you want peace, bliss, happiness,
money, whatever you want to attract, learn to start giving it first.
If you liked this book and gained something out of it, I encourage
you to earn some good karma by passing on the message to those
you care about. Let more people benefit.
Help spread the message and share this book with your friends.
***