42 Practical Ways To Improve Yourself Are you someone who likes to grow? Do you constantly seek to improve yourself and become better? If you do, then we have something in common. I’m very passionate about personal growth. It was just 4 years ago when I discovered my passion for growing and helping others grow. At that time, I was 22 and in my final year of university. SEE ALSO: How to Better Yourself One Day at a Time After 1.5 years of actively pursuing growth and helping others to grow through my personal development blog, I realize there is never an end to the journey of self improvement. As a passionate advocate of growth, I’m continuously looking for ways to self-improve. Read a book every day. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this article or anything about personal growth. Image © kevindooley
Letting Go of Attachment, from A to Zen | zen habits “Most of our troubles are due to our passionate desire for and attachment to things that we misapprehend as enduring entities.” ~Dalai Lama Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Lori Deschene of Tiny Buddha. If there’s one thing we all have in common it’s that we want to feel happy; and on the other side of that coin, we want to avoid hurting. We pin our happiness to people, circumstances, and things and hold onto them for dear life. We attach to feelings as if they define us, and ironically, not just positive ones. In trying to hold on to what’s familiar, we limit our ability to experience joy in the present. When you stop trying to grasp, own, and control the world around you, you give it the freedom to fulfill you without the power to destroy you. It’s no simple undertaking to let go of attachment—not a one-time decision, like pulling off a band-aid. The best approach is to start simple, at the beginning, and work your way to Zen. Experiencing Without Attachment Call yourself out.
The Art of Giving Up - DYSKE.COM One winter night, one of the few Japanese friends I had in my early 20s was playing a guitar at his company Christmas party. He was an architect and was about 10 years older than I was. Before he decided to study architecture, he was making a living as a guitarist in Japan. This was not the first time I heard him play, but I was still stunned by how good he was. After his performance, I told him that it was a shame that he was no longer pursuing his musical career. He then shared with me his recent realization that life is a process of giving up. Now, I not only understand it, but also believe it myself. “Giving up,” in this sense, isn’t the same as quitting. The big question is: Why do we develop attachments at all? This leads me to believe that there is an evolutionary reason for our tendencies to develop attachments. Zen Buddhism is a process of detachment. ©2006 Dyske Suematsu, All Rights Reserved.
The Age of Revolution: 10 Lessons for Leaders of the Change Generation “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”John Quincy AdamsTweet 1) Follow Your Internal Compass and Empower Others to Do The Same Deep down everyone knows the direction they should go in, however, fear and uncertainty can often paralyze the strongest ambition. You must learn to listen and trust your internal compass if you are to ever discover your own potential. By living a life that is authentic to whom you are or wish to be, you will indirectly empower everyone you come in contact with to discover their own strength. 2) If You Don’t Know Your Purpose, Discover it Through Personal Experience Every great leader must have a purpose and the only way to discover this purpose is through experience. 3) Evolve from the Conditioned Fight or Flight Response The human race has evolved over thousands of years due to a conditioned response that has guaranteed its survival. A leader can never let others rob them of their visions or dreams.
Six Steps to Meditation This meditation lasts 15 to 20 minutes. It is a meditation of SIX steps. Each step will take roughly two and half to about three minutes. I will first explain to you all the steps and then you can start. The FIRST is the step of rhythmic breathing. Breathe in slowly, easily, evenly, and deeply and then breathe out slowly, easily, evenly, and deeply. The SECOND is the step of detached observation. Then we come to the THIRD step. Then we come to the FOURTH step. The FIFTH is meditation on your immortality. And now we come to the FINAL, the last, the SIXTH step. And now if you are ready, we shall begin with the meditation. The FIRST step, the step of rhythmic breathing. Now we come to the SECOND step; it is the step of detached observation. We move to the THIRD step. We now come to the FOURTH step: It is the step of realizing the oneness with all that is; all human beings, all creatures, all birds, all animals, fish and foul, insects, even mosquitoes, all trees and shrubs and plants.
101 Ways to Be F*ckin EPIC :: Diesel Strength & Conditioning | Innovative Strength Training for Athletes comments 1. If you want to build muscle, lift heavy 2. If you want to lose fat, tighten up on your nutrition. Stop thinking that circuits and conditioning will take care of it 3. Hit more mobility work, yeah, I’m talking about everyday 4. 8. 10. 13. 21. 27. 32. 36. 40. 44. 49. 58. 1-6 (power), 6-8 (strength), 8-12 (muscle), 12+ (conditioning, endurance) – generally 59. 68. 74. 81. 87. 94. 100.
50 Life Secrets and Tips Pt. 2 Investigate what is known about deathWhat do you know about death? You certainly have beliefs around it, but what do you know about the science of death, or of those who have died and been brought back to life? Death is not as big of a mystery as it is made out to be. Do your research before you fear or misconstrue this most universal human experience.Notice the small, beautiful thingsAs cliche as this sounds, there is so much beauty in the world yet we rarely appreciate it. Find the supplements suitable for your lifestyleOur diets and habits are nothing like those which are bodies were built for. Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could boldly display 50 life secrets and tips on your wall to serve as a beautiful, daily reminder of how to live a Higher Existence?
Meditation May Protect Your Brain | Miller-McCune Online For thousands of years, Buddhist meditators have claimed that the simple act of sitting down and following their breath while letting go of intrusive thoughts can free one from the entanglements of neurotic suffering. Now, scientists are using cutting-edge scanning technology to watch the meditating mind at work. They are finding that regular meditation has a measurable effect on a variety of brain structures related to attention — an example of what is known as neuroplasticity, where the brain physically changes in response to an intentional exercise. A team of Emory University scientists reported in early September that experienced Zen meditators were much better than control subjects at dropping extraneous thoughts and returning to the breath. The same researchers reported last year that longtime meditators don’t lose gray matter in their brains with age the way most people do, suggesting that meditation may have a neuro-protective effect. Where does all this lead?
RS Part17: Appreciation PART 17 Experiencing life is all a matter of perception: physical events exist only in our mental awareness of them. There is a popular Ch’an koan which asks: “if a tree falls in the woods, and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?” The answer is no. What we call sound is only a disturbance in the atmosphere until it reaches something that can “hear” it, and a mind that can interpret it as a noise. A manmade mechanism left in the forest can detect the level of air disturbance, but it is not a sound until a mind defines the reading or recording as such. “One must truly appreciate what it means to have the opportunity to exist in this form. Realizing the significance of your life, because every specific sensation is available to you only once, and never again, leads one to understand that life has great value.
30 Life-Enhancing Things You Can Do in 30 Minutes or Less Many of us attempt to measure our happiness based on the duration of certain favorable experiences in our lives. The longer a favorable experience lasts, the happier we think we’ll be. But the truth is, life is simply a string of small, independent moments that are always changing. Thus, a few minutes well spent here and there can make a big difference in what we get out of life in the long-term. Here are 30 things you can do in 30 minutes or less that will have a positive emotional effect on you and those closest to you. And yes, I realize some of these suggestions may lead to activities and projects that will likely take longer than 30 minutes to complete; but they still take far less than 30 minutes to start. What simple life-enhancing activities do you participate in on a regular basis? Photo by: Rachel Sian Related 30 Ways to Save 30 Minutes a Day We're all way too busy. October 4, 2010 In "Hacks" 30 Challenges for 30 Days of Growth We are what we repeatedly do. December 25, 2011
Healing the Body with Mindfulness of Breathing « Metta Refuge This excerpt from a talk by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh explains how to use mindfulness of breathing to bring loving-kindness to our dear bodies. The physical effect of this can be truly remarkable. As Thây says, “You should really love your body. You should really take care of your body. Mindful breathing, with rest, can do miracles. The First Exercise of Mindful Breathing My dear friends, yesterday I spoke about the first exercise proposed by the Buddha concerning mindful breathing: “Breathing in, I am aware that I am breathing in; breathing out, I am aware that I am breathing out.” We should always start with our physical bodies, because our physical bodies also needs peace, harmony and rest. We should realize a true rest. Animals in the forest, every time they are wounded, know how to rest. Deep relaxation here is one of the methods of resting. The Second Exercise of Mindful Breathing Do not try to prolong the breath; just allow it to be the way it is, naturally. Like this:
GIANT List of Interesting Documentaries « bluehoney.org bluehoney.org Mining the internet for psychedelic beeswax since 1997 Posts Comments ← (VIDEO) – Symphony of Science – ‘We Are All Connected’ The General’s Drug Problem, Ibogaine Treatment a Promising Solution → GIANT List of Interesting Documentaries February 19, 2011 26 Comments 23 Votes Bluehoney.org – Giant List of Documentaries. Please feel free to make this list interactive. Don’t forget to check our bluehoney.org’s Video Vault for MORE VIDEOS UPDATE: Many of these links are dead. I don’t take credit for making this amazing list, a fellow member of a forum that I frequent posted this today. Enjoy: BANKING 1. BIOLOGY/EVOLUTION 1. CORPORATIONS 1. CULTURE 1. DRUGS 1. EDUCATION 1. ENLIGHTENMENT 1. FOOD 1. GOVERNMENT 1. HEALTH 1. INTERESTING PEOPLE 1. MEDIA 1. NWO 1.