Mindfulness – Breakaway Consciousness

#Book Review: Everyday Tao – Living With Balance & Harmony by Deng Min-Dao | #SmartReads | #Balance | #Tao | #Mindset | #Mindfulness

BreakawayIndividual.com
Zy Marquiez
April 22, 2019

Eastern philosophy is a rather intricate subject that has many different viewpoints. This particular book couples well into those philosophies.

Everyday Tao – Living With Balance & Harmony by Deng Min-Dao is a very insightful book.

Split up into 15 different sections, Everyday Tao covers a variety of ways into which individuals are able to get in tune with the Tao. The 15 sections are: nature, silence, books, strategy, movement, skill, craft, conduct, moderation, devotion, perseverance, teaching, self, simplifying and union.

Using Chinese ideograms, which contain inherent stories therein, the author brings about much meaning showing the reader what each ideogram breaks into and what insights can be had.

The way the book is set up, each individual insight covering no more than a page, makes this the type of book that can be read straight through, or on a day-by-day basis. For me, the latter offered much enjoyment and meaning because I was able to digest and discern much of what the book provided and ponder it deeply therein without rushing. I reference often when I feel my mind lacking a mindful approach in my every day endeavours.

Through and through, the book offers a no-nonsense approach into Taoist insights. As someone who’s relatively new to Eastern Philosophy and am open minded about it, there was much to appreciate, regardless if one is locked within a particular paradigm or not. This volume offers much value, and if you’re seeking more to read on Tao or Eastern Philosophy, do not hesitate – get this book.

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#Quote Of The Day – #Mindfulness | #Silence | #Despair

“Give me silence. Let me ponder my despair. Where the trees and birds know of no cruelty. And where I may learn to breathe again without the harsh views of humanity. Without judgement or jury. Just me, the trees, the green and my silence.”
– Amelia Dashwood

Emotional Bank Accounts: Account Closures | #Friendship | #Friends | #Loyalty | #Mindfulness | #Life

BreakawayIndividual.com
Zy Marquiez
April 13, 2019

Today I found out that one of my friends got fired from somewhere. That’s never a good thing. However, when that is done in retaliation of what someone else did, then I have a really big problem with it as a human being, regardless if I know the person or not. I think most people would feel the same way.

The person that carried out the retaliation is known me, though to say we’re friends would be a stretch. In any case, there’s not a lot of things that would get me to ‘close’ an emotional bank account but picking on people is essentially one of them. Am I angry? No. Do I hate this person? No, not at all. I haven’t been angry or hateful of anyone in a really long time, many years in fact. Poker helped me conquer those emotions and I consider myself lucky since it helped me deal with things kind of on-the-spot given how poker is merciless in poking at stick at you and testing you. That said, there’s only person I would say I actually ever hated, and this person really earned it. In fact, I told them right to their face, which I never thought I would do to anyone but it happened nonetheless.

In any case, the vanguard point is that the main emotion that envelops me is a storm of searing frustration; an ocean of frustrating that is never ending.

While the parameters for how one individual deals with another is different from person to person, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that most individuals do have that proverbial line that shouldn’t be crossed. What that line is for everyone else, I know not. What I do know is that when that line is crossed, then that’s the end of that.

I won’t be unkind to this person, even though deep down inside I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to bury this person upside down in my front yard and use them as my next Christmas tree just as a start. Irrespective of that though, my heart screams mindfulness-mindfulness-mindfulness even as my ego disagrees.

It’s just better to drain that ocean of gasoline before a spark ignites it because it’s just not worth it.

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Suggested Reading:

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Timeless Insights: The Collected #Wisdom Of Napoleon Hill | #Quotes | #Mindset

BreakawayIndividual.com
Zy Marquiez
April 5, 2019

What follows are various statements made by Napoleon Hill, on themes of mindset, perseverance, mindfulness, and more. Enjoy.

“When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.”

“Our minds become magnetized with the dominating thoughts we hold in our minds and these magnets attract us to the forces, the people, the circumstances of life which harmonize with the nature of our dominating thoughts.”

“Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action.”

“Happiness is found in doing, not merely possessing.”

“Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.”

“Just as your eyes need light in order to see, our minds need ideas in order to conceive.”

“To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don’t worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest.”

“Do not wait: the time will never be ‘just right’. Start where you stand, and work whatever tools you may have at your command and better tools will be found as you go along.”

“When your desires are strong enough, you will appear to possess superhuman powers to achieve.”

“Set your mind on a definite goal and observe how quickly the world stands aside to let you pass.”

“Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do. More than five hundred of the most successful men this country has ever known told the author their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them.”

“If you can’t do great things, do small things in a great way.”

“You are the master of your destiny. You can influence, direct and control your own environment. You can make your life what you want it to be.”

“The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.”

“A quitter never wins and a winner never quits.”

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”

“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.”

“Our only limitations are those we set up in our own minds”

“Education comes from within; you get it by struggle and effort and thought.”

“First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.”

“A goal is a dream with a deadline.”

“Your big opportunity might be right where you are right now.”

“Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.”

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it seed of an equal or greater benefit.”

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

“You might well remember that nothing can bring you success but yourself.”

“Opportunity often comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat.”

“Persistence is to the character of man as carbon is to steel.”

“Action is the real measure of intelligence.”

“There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge.”

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Suggested Reading:

Quotes On Solitude
99 George Orwell Quotes

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About The Author:

#Quote Of The Night – #Introspection | #Mindset | #Mindfulness

“Do not just
slay your demons;
dissect them
and find
what they’ve
been feeding on.”
– The Man Frozen In Time

Mindwaves & #Mindfulness

“You can’t cross the sea by merely standing on it and staring at the water.”
– Rabindranath Tagore

“The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach – waiting for the gift from the sea.”
– Anne Morrow Lindebergh

ScreenHunter 31

Breakawayindividual.com
Zy Marquiez
March 28, 2019

The mind is a fascinating subject – it is capable of not only processing each bit of data which comes its way, but more importantly, it is able to experience the full totality of existence.

Therein lies the gem: the mind, knows no bounds. An individual’s mind is capable to do anything and everything; it is capable of being centered or wander aimlessly; it can experience vast ranges of information, or able to handle one individual data stream; as such, where the mind goes, the individual will follow. This is one of the vanguard reasons why the flood of information that modern day offers can be problematic.

By way of example, when my mind gets flooded with information, whether intentionally or unintentionally, it’s emblematic of being in quicksand – my mind is processing information, but I am getting nowhere, and fast.

The best example of this took place when I first attempted playing online poker nigh two decades ago. Traditionally, live poker is played on one table, and was for an extremely long time. With the advent of technological advancements Poker was available for online play. With that, a whole new method of playing poker – and all its iterations – was born.

My first attempt at online poker play was overwhelming in ever sense of the word. In fact, it left me with a headache that lasted for days. However, instead of playing two tables simultaneously, I fired up four tables. That was a big mistake. That doesn’t seem like a lot of tables but paying attention to 16 players is vastly different than paying attention to 36 players. Two hours in, my brain was the very definition of overcooked. All of this was due to the fact my mind was incredibly flooded with information.

As such, my mindwaves got the better of me, leaving me with a helpless feeling of drowning in my own mind. Thankfully I was able to overcome that, but not without hardwork however. A couple of months later, I was able to play 12 tables comfortably, and from there, I got up to 36 tables simultaneously during cash and tournament play. What I describe is not something that only a select few can do, not at all, but it is something that requires work.

The point is that every mind is capable of learning, integrating, adapting, overcoming, and settling into a stronger default mode – every mind. One’s default mode – the baseline of an individual’s mind – is a byproduct of what you subject yourself too as well as the nature of the subject matter. It is easier to have a stronger base line if your exposure to certain subjects is minimal. The converse is unfortunately true. This makes it crucial to be mindful of all the circumstances because they can be quite impactful one way or another.

What is an individual to do when their mind begins submitting to the waves of information that are ever present in modern day life? On this, Shunryu Suzuki, author of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, states:

“…do not try to stop your thinking. Let it stop by itself. If something comes into your mind, let it come in, and let it go out. It will not stay long. When you try to stop your thinking, it means you are bothered by it. Do not be bothered by anything. It appears as if something comes from outside your mind, but actually it is only the waves of your mind, and if you are not bothered by the waves, gradually they will become calmer and calmer.”[1]

It sounds overly simplistic, doesn’t it? Keep in mind, eastern monks have been undertaking this very process for millennia. It can seem daunting at first, but it is very attainable. All it takes is commitment, perseverance and focus.

Please keep in mind that:

“A mind with waves in it is not a disturbed mind, but actually an amplified one.”[2]

The above goes to show the capacity of the mind referred to earlier and the ability of the mind to expand, to handle more, to be amplified.

That said:

“It is impossible, however, to attain absolute calmness of our mind without any effort. We must make some effort, but we must forget ourselves in the effort we make. In this realm there is no subjectivity or objectivity. Our mind is just calm, without even any awareness. In this awareness, every effort and every idea and thought will vanish. So it is necessary for us to encourage ourselves and to make an effort up to the last moment, when all effort disappears. You should keep your mind on your breathing until you are not aware of your breathing.”[3]

A mindful approach will help the individual’s mindwaves settle and the mind to be centered. This is incredibly noteworthy because according to a study conducted by the University of Southern California in 2013, the average individual in America goes through more than 13 hours of media daily.[4] That is a lot of media and nigh 2/3^rd of an individual’s day spent on media.

Life, like the ocean, will always bring us endless waves of myriad types, it is in its nature. If we do not consciously move against the tide, staying the course, the waves will carry us elsewhere – away from our destination.

Then and only then will we reach whatever goal we have.

Just like the mind can make came its own waves, it can also calm them.

The answer lies within. As it always has, and always will.

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Sources & Footnotes:

[1] Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, p. 22.
[2] Ibid., p. 24.
[3] Ibid., p. 26.
[4] Elizabeth Williams, Mary. “Why Every Mind Needs Mindfulness.” Time Special Edition – Mindfulness: The New Science Of Health And Happiness, 2017, p. 10.

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Suggested Reading:

Mindfulness 101
Modern Missteps Meet Mindfulness

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If you find value in this information, please share it. This article is free and open source. All individuals have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Zy Marquiez and BreakawayIndividual.com

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#Quotes On #Solitude

SolitudeQuotes

BreakawayIndividual.com
Zy Marquiez
March 22, 2019

Below follow some quotes on solitude for your consideration.

“Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self.”
– May Sarton

“Solitude is a place of purification.”
– Martin Buber

“The Monotony & Solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.”
– Albert Einstein

“It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Complete Prose Works

“A poet is a nightingale, who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds.”
– Percy Bysshe Shelley

“Solitude vivifies; isolation kills.”
– Joseph Roux

“We talk of communing with Nature, but ‘tis with ourselves we commune…Nature furnishes the conditions – the solitude – and the soul furnishes the entertainment.”
– John Burroughs

“To give thanks in solitude is enough. Thanksgiving has wings and goes where it must go. Your prayer knows much more about it than you do.”
– Victor Hugo

“The more powerful and original a mind, the more it will incline towards the religion of solitude.”
– Aldous Huxley

“Conversation enriches the understanding, but solitude is the school of genius.”
– Edward Gibbon

“Alone let him constantly meditate in solitude on that which is salutary for his soul, for he who meditates in solitude attains supreme bliss.”
– Guru Nanak

“Then stirs the feeling infinite so felt in solitude, where we are least alone.”
– Lord Byron

“Solitude us strength; to depend on the presence of the crowd is weakness. The man who needs a mob to nerve him is much more alone than he imagines.”
– Paul Brunton

“I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.”
– Henry David Thoreau

“One of the greatest necessities in America is to discover creative solitude.”
– Carl Sandburg

“Solitude is creativity’s best friend, and solitude is refreshment for our souls.”
– Naomi Judd

“Someone who’s awake in the middle of the night is a soul consciousness when everyone else is asleep, and that creates a feeling of solitude in poetry that I very much like.”
– Edward Hirsch