VII – Embrace The Present

The past is water under the bridge. The future is a distant sun on the horizon of your imagination. The most important moment is now. Learn to live in the Present and savor it fully. Being engaged in a pursuit that truly challenges you is the surest route to personal satisfaction. But remember: happiness is a journey, not a destination.

Stop spending so much time chasing life’s big pleasures while you neglect the little ones. Slow things down. Enjoy the beauty and sacredness of all that is around you. You owe this to yourself.

While (future) goals have the power to energize your life, you should never put off the things that are important for your well-being and satisfaction to a later time.

Today is the day to enjoy the fruits of your efforts. Today is the day to seize the moment and live a life that soars. Today is the day to harvest your dreams.

Don’t miss the forest for the trees. The best gift you could ever give is your love. Happiness is a journey. Enjoy the special moments that every day offers because today, this day is all you have.

 Stop spending money you don’t have,

To buy things you don’t need,

To impress people you don’t like!

Instead, practice the art of gratitude. We all have much to be thankful for. Think and write daily about what you are grateful for. And remember that life doesn’t always give you what you ask for, but it always gives you what you need.

Savor the special moments that fill your days. Explore the simple wonders of every stage of your life. Be Here Now. Stop sacrificing the present for the future and begin to live in the moment.

Awake to the gift of living. Stop putting off your happiness for the sake of achievement. Instead, why not enjoy the process? The journey is to be enjoyed. The road is just as good as the end.

Begin to live each day as if it was your last. Starting today, learn more, laugh more and do what you truly love to do. Do not be denied your destiny. For what lies behind you and what lies in front of you matters little when compared to what lies within you.

My cup is now empty.

Thank you Robin 🙂

VI – A Life Of Service

Ask yourself a question: What good deeds have you performed through the course of this day?

The quality of your life will come down to the quality of your contribution.

There’s an Ancient Chinese Proverb that goes like this: "A little bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives you roses." 

When you work to improve the lives of others, you indirectly elevate your own life in the process.

You must realize that, just as you entered the world with nothing, you are destined to leave with nothing. This being the case, there can be only one real reason for your being here: To give yourself to others and to contribute in a meaningful way.

Compassion and daily acts of kindness make life far richer. Take the time to meditate every morning on the good you will do for others during your day.

Here are some exercises for you to explore:

• Use sincere words of praise to those who least expect it.
• Offer gestures of warmth to friends in need.
• Generate tokens of affection to members of your family.
• Keep friendships in constant repair.

And here are some thought-provoking techniques to keep your drive:

• Practice daily acts of kindness.
• Give to those who ask.
• Cultivate richer relationships.

Last, but not least, I offer you my deep respect and appreciation for your presence in my life, feedback, comments, likes and shares. You make me better, stronger, inspired, motivated and productive. Thank you.

With love and respect, see you next week!

For more on the subject check Robin Sharma

V – Time as your most precious commodity

Remind yourself of your own mortality and the importance of living full, productive days while advancing your purposes. Time slips through our hands like grains of sand, never to return. Time mastery is life mastery!

Learn to use time masterfully. Productive people are highly efficient with their time. Time mastery allows you more time to do the things you love to do and that are truly meaningful to you. Time mastery leads to life mastery. Guard time well. Remember, it’s a non-renewable resource.

To live in balance you must plan your week and manage your time creatively. Failing to plan is planning to fail:

1. Take a moment before sleep to plan the next day.
2. Take a Sunday hour to organize your entire week.
3. Include your Goals (personal, social, spiritual, etc.) into your schedule.

Have the discipline to focus your time around your priorities. The most meaningful things in your life should never be sacrificed to those that are the least meaningful.

Being busy is no excuse. The real question is “what are you so busy about?”

Pareto’s Law states that 80% of the results you achieve in your life come from only 20% of the activities that occupy your time. Start focusing on your “high-impact” activities, those 20% of what you do that actually will have an influence on the quality of your life. Enlightened people are priority driven. This is the secret of time mastery.

Don’t let others steal your time. Be wary of time thieves. Learn to say no. Having the courage to say no to the little things in life will give you the power to say yes to the big things. The more you value your own time, the more respect you get from other people.

Regarding procrastination, remember that the most productive people in this world have cultivated the habit of doing the things that less productive people don’t like doing, even though they too might not like doing them.

Live a simple life. Don’t hurry or frenzy your pace. Look at nature’s easiness and naturalness. Never sacrifice accomplishments for peace of mind. And enjoy taking a nap in the afternoon, it will rejuvenate, refresh and energize your spirit.

Finally, stop acting like you have five hundred years to live… One day you will wish you had started a little sooner. Don’t waste a single grain of sand from your glass watch! “The best time to plant a tree was forty years ago. The second best time is today.” (Divea)

Start focusing on all the meaningful things that you have been putting off, and stop squandering time on all those petty things that have dragged you down into the quagmire of crisis and chaos.

Act as if failure is impossible, and your success will be assured. Wipe out every thought of not achieving your objectives. Be brave, and set no limits on the workings of your imagination. Never be a prisoner of your past. Become the architect of your future.

Listen to your conscience. Let it guide you. It knows what is right. It will tell you that your calling in life is ultimately selfless service to others in some form or another.

Time’s up! For now 😉 See you next week.

For more on the subject check http://www.robinsharma.com

IV – The Power Of Discipline

The virtue of self-discipline is like a wire cable. It consists of many thin, tiny wires placed one on top of the other. Alone, each one is flimsy and weak. But, together, their sum is much greater than their constituent parts and the cable becomes tougher than iron.

Self-control and willpower are similar to this. To build a will of iron, it is essential to take small, tiny acts in tribute to the virtue of personal discipline. Routinely performed, the little acts pile one on top of another to eventually produce an abundance of inner strength.

Self-discipline will provide you with the mental reserves required to persevere when life throws you one of its little curves. Building self-control and discipline into your life will also bring you a tremendous sense of freedom.

Too many people are slaves to their impulses. They have grown reactive rather than proactive. But real freedom is to see the forest beyond the trees; the freedom to choose what is right over what seems pressing. Stop being a slave to your weaker impulses. Stop doing what everyone else tells you should be doing.

How to build discipline?

1 – Willpower: inspires you to do what is right in any given moment. It gives you the energy to act with courage. It gives you the control to live the life you have imagined rather than accepting the life that you have.

Lack of will power is a dangerous thing. Those who have a vicious temper will tell you, “I can’t help it, my father was the same way.” Those who worry too much will tell you, “It’s not my fault, my job is too stressful.” Those who sleep too much will say, “What can I do? My body needs ten hours of sleep a night.”

Through cultivating willpower, you have the power to be more than your environment. Similarly, you have the capacity to be more than a prisoner of your past. To do this, you must become the master of your will.

2 – Self-control (=mind control): Control every thought that you think. Developed the ability to discard all weak thoughts and focus only on those that are positive and good. Instead of being a slave to your habits, challenge them with more powerful thoughts. Eventually, weaker thoughts will see that they are unwanted and leave like visitors who know they are not welcome. If you don’t take the time to start controlling your thoughts, they will control you.

Here’s a Mantra for discipline:

“I am more than I appear to be, all the world’s strength and power rests inside me.”

And here’s some exercises for discipline:

1. Start doing the things you don’t like doing. By getting into the habit of exerting your will, you will cease to be a slave to your weaker impulses.
2. Take a vow of silence. Go an entire day without speaking, except in response to a direct question.
3. Build Momentum. Start off small. Small victories excite you to take larger steps along the path to your highest self.

Decide to do the things you know you should be doing rather than walking the path of least resistance. Start to fight the gravitational force of your bad habits and weaker impulses just as a rocket rises above the force of gravity to enter the realm of the heavens. Push yourself. Keep setting the mark higher and raising your standards continuously.

For more on the subject check “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari”

III – Self-Leadership = Self-Improvement

KAIZEN = Japanese word meaning constant and never-ending improvement.

Success on the outside begins with success on the inside. If you really want to improve your outer world (health, relationships, finances, etc.) you must first improve your inner world. The most effective way to do this is through the practice of continuous self-improvement. Self-mastery is the DNA of life mastery.

Change is the most powerful force in our society today. Most people fear it. The wise embrace it. Self-Improvement implies continuous change. What once got you here wont get you there. Evolution (therefore, self-progress) implies continuous change, adaptation and openness for new concepts.

Zen tradition speaks of a beginner’s mind: those who keep their minds open to new concepts — those whose cups are always empty — will always move to higher levels of achievement and fulfillment.

And once you take the time to build a strong character – full of discipline, energy, power and optimism – you can have anything and do anything you want in your outer world.

When you have cultivated a deep sense of faith in your abilities and an indomitable spirit, nothing can stop you from succeeding in all your pursuits and living with great rewards.

Master your mind, care for your body and nourish your soul.

“The only limits on your life are those that you set yourself.” (Yogi Raman)

Here are the 3 steps towards self-mastery and mastery over life’s circumstance:

1 – Once you go out of your circle of comfort and explore the unknown you start to liberate your true human potential. Push yourself daily. Work hard to improve your mind and body. Nourish your spirit. Do the things you have always wanted to do but didn’t because you tricked yourself into believing that you were too young, too old, too rich or too poor.

2 – Identify the things that are holding you back. Make a written inventory of your weaknesses… then, do the things you fear. Remember that fear is nothing more than a negative stream of consciousness. No experience is inherently painful or pleasant. It is your thinking that makes it so. It’s all a matter of conditioning. Fear is a conditioned response that sucks life, energy and creativity out of you. Fear is your own creation, so you must do the thing you fear the most.

3 – Truly enlightened people are prepared to put off short-term pleasure for the sake of long-term fulfillment. Stop procrastination and get things done.

Once you start to explore (1) new ways for improving your mind and body, (2) facing fears and (3) thinking on long-term accomplishment rather than short-term escapades, start on building rituals. Excellence is nothing but a habit. Use the following 10 rituals to build your new and improved best version of yourself.

The Ten Rituals of Radiant Living:

I – The Ritual of Solitude. Include a mandatory period of peace on your daily schedule. Take time to explore the healing power of silence and come to know who you really are. Think of the Ritual of Solitude as a pit-stop for the soul. Its purpose is self-renewal and this is accomplished by spending time alone, immersed in the beautiful blanket of silence. Solitude and quiet connects you to your creative source and releases the limitless intelligence of the Universe. The Ritual of Solitude works best when you practice it at the same time every day because it becomes integrated into your routine as a ritual and habit that you will never neglect. Explore this ritual by also commuting with nature daily.

II – The Ritual of Physicality. As you care for the body so you care for the mind. Exercise. Do some Yoga! Take vigorous walking in natural surroundings and breathe fresh air. To breathe properly is to live properly. The art of effective breathing adds on energy. Proper breathing requires you to take in more oxygen to liberate your energy reserves along with your natural state of vitality. Breathe more deeply and from the abdomen. Cup your hands over the stomach and feel its soft movement.

III – The Ritual of Live Nourishment. Fuel your body with live foods. Take on a vegetarian diet, rich with fruits, vegetables and grains. A poor diet has a pronounced effect on your life. It drains your mental and physical energy. It affects your moods and it hampers the clarity of your mind.

IV – The Ritual of Abundant Knowledge. Expand your learning skills and your knowledge base for the good of yourself and all those around you. Not applied knowledge is only potential power. Applied knowledge manifests itself as wisdom. Read regularly but be selective, aiming for books that will improve both you and the quality of your life. Don’t just read. Re-read, study, analyze and take it all in, then put it to practice. But be sharp: some books are meant to be tasted, some books are meant to be chewed and, finally, some books are meant to be swallowed whole. Read the right books. The answers and solutions of life’s problems and challenges are all recorded on the pages of books. Learn how those who have preceded you have handled the challenges you are currently facing. Apply their strategies for success and you will be astonished by the improvements you will note in your life. Be aware that the “right books” depends on your good judgment, but a good starting point is to study the biographies of those you admire. It’s not what you will get out of the books that is so enriching — it is what the books will get out of you that will ultimately change your life. Books do not actually teach you anything new. Books simply help you to see what is already within your self.

V – The Ritual of Personal Reflection. Take time to get to know yourself and connect to a dimension of your being that you never knew you had. Search for your hidden talents. By becoming wiser inwardly you’ll start feeling more at ease with yourself. Take Benjamin Franklin’s example: Every evening, after a full day of productive work, he would retire to a silent corner of his home and reflect on his day. He would consider all of his actions and whether they were positive and constructive or whether they were of the negative sort, in need of repair. By clearly knowing what he was doing wrong in his days, he could take immediate steps to improve and advance along the path of self-mastery. So, take a written inventory of your day. List your activities and interactions. List your thoughts. Get introspective. By looking at what you are doing, how you are spending your day and the thoughts you are thinking, you give yourself a benchmark for measuring improvement. The only way to improve tomorrow is to know what you did wrong today. Stop making the same mistakes over and over again. Eliminate your lack of self-awareness.

VI – The Ritual of Early Awakening. Make it a habit to rise with the sun. Remember that it is the quality of sleep that is important (not the quantity). Sleep provides your body with rest, processes the gathered information along the day and restores your energy levels. Before you go to sleep, don’t watch the news or argue with anyone or even go over the day’s events in your mind’s eye. Just relax! After waking up, start the day off well. Think positive thoughts. Give a prayer of thanks for all you have. Work on your gratitude list. Laugh! Laughing is medicine for the soul. Then, ask yourself this question: “What would I do today if today was my last?” What would you do? How would you treat people? Visualize your day beforehand.

VII – The Ritual of Music. Music is a spiritual boost, a motivator. It has the power to make you laugh, dance and sing.

VIII – The Ritual of the Spoken Word. Reciting Mantras keep you focused, strong and happy. In Sanskrit, ‘MAN’ means ‘mind’ and ‘TRA’ means ‘freeing.’ So a mantra is a phrase which is designed to free the mind. Repeating a mantra aloud has a wonderful effect on your spirit. When in need for motivation, you might repeat, ‘I am inspired, disciplined and energized’. To keep your sense of self-confidence you might think, ‘I am strong, able and calm.’ What you say to others is important. What you say to yourself is even more important. You are your thoughts. You are your self-talk. What you say (to yourself and aloud) is a Mantra and it will be manifested in your external reality. So, choose your way to think and express yourself wisely. The words you say to yourself affect your self-image that determines what actions you take. Your self-image is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Words have power. By filling your mind with words of hope, you become hopeful. By filling your mind with words of kindness, you become kind. By filling your mind with thoughts of courage, you become courageous..

IX – The Ritual of a Congruent Character. This ritual requires you to take daily, incremental action to build your character. Strengthening your character affects the way you see yourself and the actions you take. Thoughts lead to actions that build habits. Your habits form your character which will pave your destiny. So, cultivate your virtues and create a meaningful life. Do the right thing. Act with integrity. Be guided by your heart.

X – The Ritual of Simplicity. One must never live in the thick of thin things. Live a simple life. Focus only on your priorities, those activities which are truly meaningful. Reduce your needs (for fame, fortune, food, glory, money, attention, helpfulness, etc.). If you will always want more than you have, how can you ever be happy? Stop picking up the phone every time it rings, stop wasting time reading junk mail, stop eating out three times a week, give up your golf-club membership and spend more time with your kids, spend a day a week without your watch, watch the sun rise every few days, sell your cellular phone and dump the pager.

In conclusion, always be brave. Stand your ground and follow your dreams. They will lead you to your destiny.

For more on the subject check Yogi Raman’s teachings

II – The purpose of life is a life of purpose.

He who serves the most, reaps the most, emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually. This is the way to inner peace and outer fulfillment.

“You have now learned that the mind is like a fertile garden and for it to flourish, you must nurture it daily. Never let the weeds of impure thought and action take the garden of your mind. Stand guard at the gateway of your mind. Keep it healthy and strong — it will work miracles in your life if you will only let it.”

Robin Sharma – “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari”.

Those who are truly enlightened know what they want out of life, emotionally, materially, physically and spiritually. Clearly defined priorities and goals for every aspect of your life will serve a role similar to that played by a lighthouse, offering you guidance and refuge when the seas become rough.

When you clearly know what aims you wish to achieve over the course of your life, be they material, emotional, physical or spiritual, and you spend your days accomplishing them, you will ultimately find eternal joy.

The lighthouse in Yogi Raman’s fable will always remind you of the power of setting clearly defined, purposeful goals and, most importantly, of having the character power to act on them.”

Fully actualized people understand the importance of exploring their talents, uncovering their personal purpose and then applying their human gifts in the direction of this calling.

The key is to have the discipline and vision to see your heroic mission and to ensure that it serves other people while you realize it.

Setting clearly defined objectives for what we desire in our mental, physical and spiritual world is critical to your realization.

Anyone who wishes to improve the quality of their inner as well as their outer worlds would do well to take out a piece of paper and start writing out their life aims.

You change your life the moment you set your goals and start to seek out your Dharma (=life’s purpose)

Whatever it is, find your passion and then follow it.

When the mind is used properly it filters out what you perceive as unimportant and gives you only the information you are looking for at that time.

The moment I decide to concentrate on my heartbeat, I start to notice its rhythm and its qualities. Similarly, when you decide to start concentrating your mind on your life’s main aims, your mind starts to filter out the unimportant and focus only on the important.”

There is nothing wrong with mapping out a full range of smaller goals in the process of planning your bigger ones.”

5 step method to reach your objectives and fulfill the purpose of your life:

1 – Picturing: form a clear mental image of the outcome. The clearer this mental picture, the more effective the process would be.

2 – Get some positive pressure on yourself to keep you inspired. Pressure can inspire you to achieve great ends. One of the best is the public pledge. Tell everyone you know whatever your goal might be. Pressure can exert great power on the building of good habits and the attainment of goals.

3 – Never set a goal without attaching a deadline to it. Also, a goal that is not committed to paper is no goal at all. Elaborate your own “Dream Book” and fill it with all your desires, objectives and dreams. Divide your “Dream Book” into separate sections for goals relating to the different areas of your life. Fill your Dream Book with pictures of the things you desire and images of people who have cultivated the abilities, talents and qualities that you hope to emulate.

4 – The Magic Rule of 21: for new behavior to crystallize into a habit, one had to perform the new activity for 21 days in a row. A bad habit once acquired could never be erased, but only be replaced. The only way to permanently install a new habit is to direct so much energy toward it that the old one slips away like an unwelcome houseguest. There is tremendous power in a ritual. When you insert any activity into your routine by doing it the same way at the same time every day, it quickly grows into a habit.”

5 – Enjoy the process. A day without laughter or a day without love is a day without life. Make sure that you have fun while you are advancing along the path of your goals and purpose. Remain spirited, joyful and curious. Stay focused on your lifework and on giving selfless service to others. Live with PASSION. A burning sense of passion is the most potent fuel for your dreams. Doing things because we feel we have to do them rather than we love to do them is a formula for misery. Feel passion for life. Reclaim the joy of waking up every morning, full of energy and exhilaration. Breathe the fire of passion into all that you do. You will quickly reap great material, as well as spiritual, rewards. Take complete control of your life. Decide, once and for all, to be the master of your fate. Run your own race. Discover your calling and you will start to experience the ecstasy of an inspired life.

For more on the subject check the wisdom of The Sages Of Sivana

I – Care for your mind

Exposure to novelty (new people, different books, diverse cultures) stirs your creativity, your vision and your habits. Question everything. Observe. Meditate.

Nurturing your mind like a garden will make it blossom. Cultivate diversity and wisdom. Miles Davis and Django Reinhardt were known to rejoice with kinds of music, which were different from the aesthetic paths that made them popular. Jim Hall explicitly referenced his search for inspiration, not in music, but in paintings, books and nature.

Avoid growing weeds. Your mind is your treasure. Protect it like a gardener protects his garden. Even more so, protect your mind like a guard protects his king!

Avoid throwing toxic waste into your precious garden: worries, anxieties, fears, lament, stress, confusion, fights, arguments, mockery, jealousy… they all drain your minds’ energy and vitality, injuring your soul.

Work on your information diet. Never settle or afford the luxury of a negative thought as it may injure you in subtle unconscious ways. Adopt a positive paradigm about the world. Start by describing three daily positive things you are grateful for.

The way you think stems from habit. Make positive thinking your habit. Through mental conditioning comes Mastery. If you come to think about it, there is only one thing you have absolute dominion over: YOUR MIND.

You can’t control the weather, the markets or the news of the world. You can’t control what happen around you, what others say or think about you. You can’t even control if your plans, projects or business ideas will work out in the end.

You can only control your attitude toward these events and your mind about circumstances: the way you look at, interpret and think about what happens around you. Put on green glasses and you’ll see the world as green. Switch them to red and suddenly the world seems red.

Your outer world reflects the state of your inner world. You take the driver’s seat of your life once you master controlling your thoughts and the way you respond to circumstances and events.

There are no absolutes. The same event or the same person might be interpreted in completely opposite directions. It’s up to you to decide which way to go. How will you interpret and process the circumstances of life? You choose your response.

Through this new light, events are no longer positive or negative. Those are just different labels you put into things when judging what surrounds you. Instead, one should experience and celebrate what may come. Every event offers you lessons that inspire or fuel your inner growth.

Life itself, then, becomes the major plateau for you to sharpen your own exercises and techniques on building mental toughness. Persistence is the mother of personal change. But the goal is not to reach the finish line. The goal is the process towards the line. Let go of the outcome and focus on the process of personal expansion and growth. You’ll never see the finish line in the horizon again, because it ceases to exist. Instead, there’s only what truly matters: The path.

Concentration is at the root of mental mastery, and also favors the secret to eternal happiness: find out what you truly love to do and then direct all of your energy towards doing it. Once you are concentrating your mind power and energy on a worthy pursuit that you love, abundance flows into your life, and all your desires are fulfilled with ease and grace.

To be worthy, your passion must, in some way, improve or serve the lives of others. Once you find out what your life’s work is, your world will come alive. You’ll be driven by your priorities in an effortless and gentle way. And given your enthusiasm and love for what you are doing in your life, you start living in the moment. Your attention is fully and completely on the task at hand. Therefore, there are no energy leaks. Discover your real reason for being here and then have the courage to act on it.

Take some daily time to silently contemplate not only where you are, but also where you are going. Take the time to reflect on your purpose and how you are living your life, every day. Most importantly, think deeply and genuinely about how you would improve the next day. Daily incremental improvements produce lasting results, which, in turn, lead to positive change.

In short, caring for your mind starts on meditation, the process where you improve concentration over your thoughts and actions. Stronger ability to concentrate leads you in finding meaning (a.k.a.: your life’s purpose) which resumes in a happy fulfilling life.

Techniques:

1. The Heart Of The Rose – Meditation with a flower.
2. Opposition Thinking – when an undesirable thought occupies the focal point of your mind, immediately replace it with an uplifting one.
3. The Secret Of The Lake – Visualization (the mind works through pictures. Pictures affect your self-image and your self-image affects the way you feel, act and achieve). See yourself as you want to be. Visualize mental pictures of all that you want to be, to have and to attain in your life.

For more on the subject Check Robin Sharma’s “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari”

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari – REVIEW

 

This one goes out to the ones seeking a life of simplicity, serenity and harmony.

“Julian, I promise you that the time you have spent with me will not be in vain. I will dedicate myself to living by the wisdom of the Sages of Sivana and I will keep my promise to you by sharing all that I have learned with those who will benefit by your message. I am speaking from the heart. I give you my word,"

Robin Sharma in “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari”

In the Summer of 2015 a special friend invited my wife and I to spend a few days in the countryside. I vividly remember waking up with the first rays of sun, grabbing my sneakers and going off, alone in the wild, running, while everyone else was sleeping.

I only took one thing along the way: Robin Sharma’s bestselling masterpiece “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” audiobook.

Fast forward to 2016 I’m writing this intro in the very first place I started to listen to Yogi Raman’s fable, Julian Mantle’s journey and Robin Sharma’s must-read piece of art.

Just like Julian Mantle’s character, I also quit a promising career as a lawyer and took the path of inner peace. In my case, it was through the life of a Jazz musician. I suffered. A lot. I’ve made many mistakes and compromised good personal and professional relationships. I’ve harmed myself, probably in permanent ways, simply because I had no light to guide my journey.

It took me a lot of sweat, blood and tears to start realizing who am I, what am I doing and where am I going. I had no idea that “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” could be a decisive key of an adventure that started with a dream: moving to Australia.

In 2014 I had a shoot at moving from Lisbon to Melbourne. I offered the VCA (Victorian College Of Arts) a project. This project: MAXIMIZING PERFORMANCE. This is where Musical Performance, Pilates and Meditation connect. This is what made me walk the longest road to be who I want to be. This is why I’ve been working on the best version of myself.

Robin Sharma’s “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” is like the last chapter of this VCA project. A project my dear Australian friends from the VCA and the MCM feared it was too big and too broad to be doable. This is (one of) my life’s project coming to a closure. I hope I’ve been of service to you along these years.

Studying, practicing and playing Jazz Guitar for so many years had me searching for the best strategies to do so. I had the privilege to realise the connection of the body, mind and spirit, all in one. I had the strength to experiment better practice regimes, strategies and approaches. I had the consciousness to discover that there are no absolute truths and that the best method is the one who serves you.

Like in Chess, playing music or body-mind-spirit alignment offer us infinite possible combinations. But there’s usually one better suited for where we are. Here and Now.

If you want to be a great chef, at some point of your life you should try ALL the ingredients at your disposal. After being conscious of the infinite possibilities you may choose to rely on a smaller number of specific ingredients. And when you start facing adversities you may well be bold, make a wild decision and going for a long-lost and avoided ingredient. Just see where it leads. Go for it.

You have the tools. Choose them wisely. Check Mate.

“The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” is an invaluable work. For the sake of accuracy I choose not to tell this story in my own words. Instead I opt to offer you the 20% unmissable wisdom it contains.

I have studied this masterpiece’s fable time and time again. It was the only book that made me literally cry after reading its last word. And now I’m bond to honour the wisdom of the Sages of Sivana by sharing it with you.

Please empty your cup and let yourself be inspired by “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari”.

Yogi Raman Fable has 7 elements:

1. The Garden – to keep you focused on inspiring thoughts.
2. The Lighthouse – to remind you of your life’s goals.
3. The Sumo Wrestler – to keep you centered on continuous self-improvement.
4. The Wire Cable – to link you to your willpower.
5. The Stopwatch – to remember time as your most precious commodity.
6. The Roses – to remind you of practicing random acts of kindness.
7. The Path Of Diamonds – to recall you should enjoy the process and embrace the present.

Success is often experienced as an outer accomplishment: a medal, a prize, a win, a goal. But what we so often forget to realize is that success grows from within. Inner success is the foundation of great accomplishments. Inner success adds meaning to those victorious moments.

Self-mastery is the result of mental, physical and spiritual care. When it reaches it’s full potential it reveals in the outer world in a form of… a medal, a prize, a win, a goal.

“When the student is ready, the teacher appears”

Robin Sharma

Let’s add more living into our lives!

Start by realizing how full of preconceived ideas you are. A filled teacup is no longer suitable for pouring extra tea, unless you start emptying it first.

Next week’s post will be all about nurturing the magic garden of your mind to keep you focused on inspiring thoughts. Stay tuned.

How To Unlock Dharma

What’s the meaning of life? Why are we here? What is our purpose?

Dharma means the right way of living, the path of righteousness.

Since each and every one of us has specific natural abilities, talents and forms of expression we should focus on let that path be revealed by our thoughts, words and actions.

In order to fulfil our life’s purpose one must, firstly, understand the inner self. What are your strengths, your talents and your competences? How do you operate inwardly? What are your thoughts and emotions made of? What are you thinking? What’s your view of the world? How do you interpret things? How do you act? What do you desire? Who are you?

Secondly, one must understand in what ways are those talents being expressed. What is your contribution? How do you express yourself? What do you do?

Lastly, one must manifest their dimensions towards service. How can you help? What can you offer to your community? What is your gift to others?

To be fully connected to your inner Self you must ask the right question. “What can I give? How can I contribute?” Rather then “what can I take for myself.”

The path of righteousness is quite simple to reveal but a life long to achieve:

1 – Find your Higher Self through Self-Knowledge, Self-Practice and Self-Mastery.

2 – Find your natural talents. Find what comes easy for you instead of what you struggle to be or achieve.

3 – Find ways how you can be the most serviceable and helpful person on your craft.

Before you play an instrument you must fine-tune it, right? So, before you go out to the world showing the best of your potential, be sure you are in tune with yourself, your talents and your society. This can be the simplest but best and more effective way to achieve success and happiness. Give it a try!

Are you starting to feel inner Peace? Great, now go out there and be present! Class dismissed 🙂

Unlock Your Safety Shackles

 

Letting Go can be a daunting task.

But embracing the unknown

Represents freedom from the past.

I’m a poet, who would know!

Wanting so bad does not work. Grab a hold to something or someone and you will see that the produced effect is the complete opposite from your intention. The more you cling the less you keep.

Worrying about keeping, reaching or achieving something is like trying to speed up a particle to the speed of light. The more you speed the particle, the heavier and slower it gets. It is counterproductive, frustrating and it won’t get you anywhere.

The paradox reveals itself. The human nature implies reaching in, winning, conquering, achieving, craving, wanting and desiring, but it all comes to those who surrender and abdicate the wanted results.

 

“Detachment is not that you should own nothing.

But nothing should own you.”

Ali Ibn Abi Talib

 

When you come to realize how top performers deal with their challenges, pressures and goals you might notice the natural ability to make extremely difficult things seem easy and simple. There’s no obsession, no lost gaze in the horizon, no self-consumption, no inner battle, no striving and no effort. It’s like they already knew the positive outcome of their task. It is self-assured knowing (by heart, intuition and self-control) that the outcome can only be one.

Let yourself be consumed by your desires and all starts spiralling out of control.

Let’s gather around on this thought, guys! Our focus on a desired result can only be originated in fear and insecurity. On the contrary, detachment is based on the unquestionable faith of our beings.

When we cling to results we get hooked to mundane necessities, despair, and impossibilities. When we Let Go we surrender to the unknown that opens space and freedom for creativity.

When you look for safety you get dependable. This happens because your need for certainty is rooted to the past and the known. This shackles your evolution process and gets you stagnant, spiralling around old comfortable actions and ideas. And if you stop your evolutionary process you become stagnant, decay and block your energy flow.

 

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again

Expecting different results.

 

Uncertainty, therefore, is the fertile soil for creativity and freedom. Nothing new can come from old concepts. That is called repetition. The land of all possibilities can only be the unknown. Strict ideas about how the outcomes should present themselves is quite atrophying.

I always found amusing the established concept of jazz musicians about playing what they are listening and singing while playing. I asked myself how could that help creating new ideas? If you sing what you already know you’re limiting yourself to the same ideas. Instead, go out there, explore and never mind the result. Just play, invent yourself, listen to what is coming from your instrument and have fun!

So, in the end one should start to:

1 – Incorporate uncertainty in your day-to-day life.

2 – Be open to shift directions at anytime.

3 – Don’t force solutions or outcomes.

4 – Be aware to new opportunities and ideas.

5 – Allow things and people to be what and who they are, not forcing how they should be.

6 – Embrace spontaneity.

The game starts NOW. What will be your next move?