Inquire Within
This next article is part of an ongoing series here at TSB Magazine called The Success Principles. The series is based on the 64 principles laid out by Jack Canfield in his course of the same name. If you're new, I always suggest starting any series from the beginning.
Principle 47: Inquire Within
Brain Researchers estimate that your unconscious data base outweighs the conscious on an order exceeding ten million to one.? This data base is the source of your hidden, natural genius.? In other words, a part of you is much smarter than you are.? The wise people regularly consult that smarter part. -Michael Gelb
I’ve written countless times how you must always trust your intuition.? It is often the truth, so starkly simple, that we overlook it.
I remember a little over a year ago I was seeing this girl. Things were going extremely well.? We both seemed to be genuinely into each other.? One night, a few weeks into the relationship, I had this really vivid dream in which the two of us were walking down the street and she disappeared. I clearly remember the rest of the dream in which I was rushing through the streets looking for her. I woke up before I found her.
The minute I woke up I knew that it was over between the two us.? I had no rational reason to know this. The relationship was going really well.? But something internally told me I would never see her again.? That weekend she canceled plans with me.? I never saw her again.
Intuition can be used to judge character, predict a relationship, make more money, make better decisions, solve problems, unleash your creative genius, discern people’s hidden motives, envision a new business, and create winning business plans and strategies.
We’ll all experienced some sort of intuition.? The trick is to learn how to tap into it at will to achieve a greater level of success.
Mediation is widely regarded as one of the greatest ways to internally for advice and guidance. As my experience with meditation is still in its infancy… I’ve included a passage from The Change Blog.
It is hard to pick up meditation from just reading an article, but I would like to share a few basic pointers about what meditation involves. No matter what form of meditation you follow, the basic shared principle is to quieten your thoughts and mind. We can sit in a chair for many hours, but, if thoughts continually pass through our mind then our meditation will be ineffective. Ultimately the aim is to have a mind free of thoughts. It is in this inner silence that we can experience a consciousness of real peace.
At first glance, people may find the concept of stopping thoughts very difficult. If you try sitting silent for a while, you will probably be inundated with thoughts. When giving meditation classes, the difficulty of controlling the thoughts is a common experience. However, if you sincerely try, you can learn to reduce the power of thoughts over yourself.
These are some tips I suggest for controlling your thoughts:
You control your thoughts not the other way around. Always remember it is you who can decide which thoughts to pursue and which to reject. Never feel a slave to your own thoughts, even if at times they seem powerful.
Patience. Don't expect a silent mind after the first few attempts. We have been thinking all our life; to change a habit of a lifetime requires persistence and perseverance. Meditation, like any worthwhile activities requires dedicated and focused intensity.
Detachment. If you keep rejecting thoughts, what happens is that you may be aware of thoughts, but, they have much less intensity. A thought bubbles up, but, it becomes easier to detach from it. You start to see thoughts as independent and outside of yourself. This is a good sign, it shows you are developing the capacity to separate the sense of self from your mental thoughts. From this point it becomes easier to stop your thoughts completely.
Concentrate on something. It is hard to control our thoughts through the power of the mind. To achieve inner silence it is advisable to choose something to focus our attention on. This may be the use of a simple mantra; it may be concentrating on a candle or flower. Personally, I concentrate on the heart center. Try listening to your heart beat and feel your awareness leaving the mind and entering the heart. If you can consciously leave the mind, it becomes much easier to reduce the power of thoughts.
Intensity. If we are satisfied with outer life, we will feel no aspiration to meditate. Effective meditation requires an aspiration to discover inner peace and inner happiness. Meditation is not something to be done mechanically; it should be done with intensity and focus. Meditate with the feeling that this is our last day on earth.
If really want to find the answers that lie within you, you must continually be asking yourself the right questions.? When you sit down in silence to meditate or simply contemplate… offer questions for your subconscious mind to ponder over.
As you come out of your meditative state make sure that your write down your answers immediately. In fact, it is a good idea to always carry a digital voice recorder along with you, as you never know when the answer to one of these questions will pop into your mind.
When your intuition speaks to you it is important that you take action on it immediately. This is because the more time you have to begin to doubt it or second guess it, the more likely you are to dismiss the “true” answer in favor of the “false” answer your conscious mind delivers you.
I’ve decided to include a video here for those of you interested in learning more about meditation.? I also recommend picking up a reference video such as this one called Meditation for Beginners.
[orange]ejruLy2Cf_o[/orange]
About Bobby Rio I'm Bobby Rio, one of the founders of TSB. I tend to write about what is on my mind so you'll find a mix of self development, social dynamics and dating articles/experiences. For a collection of some of my favorite articles check them out.