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January 30, 2024
human thought and its components: the mind, intelligence and ego.
hold our plans lightly, not tightly. Being thus guided, we make plans and try our best to execute them. But when factors beyond our control thwart our plans, we don’t hyperventilate – we open ourselves for the working of a higher plan, confident that it will bring good in its own way.
A pertinent psychological principle is: the more we dwell on anything, be it small or big, the bigger it becomes in our consciousness, thereby making other things small.
The starting point of determination is desire. When we desire something, and desire it strongly, we pursue it and persevere in pursuing it even amidst obstacles. And such perseverance is determination.
our many lower desires may make us hooked to unworthy things.
If our desires are undirected or misdirected, the phenomenal power of desires gets dissipated on trivialities. When we direct our desire constructively, we notice doors that we would otherwise overlook.
if we keep second-guessing ourselves, desiring first this thing and then that, we can’t clearly perceive either our purpose or the path to our purpose. When we are decisive, determination follows naturally.
living in the moment is not living for the moment.
living in the moment means first, not letting regrets about the past or fears about the future distract us and second, focusing on the present to create the kind of life we aspire for. Forsaking present indulgence for a better future is the essence of sacrifice. And the intelligence to do such sacrifice differentiates humans from animals.
lust resides not just in our senses and mind, but also in our intelligence. When lust takes over our intelligence, we start using our cleverness to cover our corruptness.
While being conscious of our limitations may be functionally necessary, being conscious only of our limitations can be psychologically damaging.
we certainly need to improve, but we need to check what approach actually empowers us to improve. If our self-castigation jolts us out of our complacency and impels us to take determined steps for self-reformation, that’s productive. But if such self-castigation amounts to beating ourselves down when we are already down, demoralizing us so much that we stop even trying to rise, then that is counterproductive.
Resisting the mind is tough, but redirecting it makes things easier.
The mind impels us toward short-term gratification, whereas the intelligence inspires us toward long-term welfare.
Each time we use our intelligence to resist our mind, our mind becomes weaker and slower, whereas our intelligence becomes stronger and swifter. Eventually, our intelligence outraces our mind, making disciplining ourselves easier
if we wish to control our mind, we absolutely need a supportive structure, that is, an appropriate process
The sky limits the area of movement of the air, but doesn’t limit the movement itself. Similarly, our situations constrain the scope of our free will, but not our free will itself.
Most sayings convey broad truths that need to be contextually qualified and nuanced.
We need to know which experiences to bounce off us and which to bind to us – that too is a lesson we can learn from experience.
Actual humility is not about looking down at ourselves but about looking up at something bigger than ourselves.
tree that is stiff breaks when battered by strong storms, but a flexible tree survives. What applies to trees also applies to us.
detachment is a characteristic of those in knowledge.
paradoxically, attachment impedes us in being responsible, whereas detachment helps us act more responsibly.
To do anything worthwhile, we need to focus our consciousness constructively, consistently, carefully.
steady focus helps us become intelligently purposeful and meaningfully productive.
freedom from fear is not always desirable. Fear is often a healthy and necessary indicator of danger; it protects us from foolhardiness. But when fear dominates and paralyzes us, that fear needs to be surmounted. How? By pursuing a purpose bigger than fear.
we all have two sides: divine and demonic.
the way to strength is not outward, by exploiting others’ weaknesses; it is inward, by overcoming our own weaknesses.
the most consequential power struggle: the struggle against our own weaknesses. Why is this struggle the most consequential? Because winning it yields the ultimate victory: a life of lasting love and joy.
intelligence is essentially transformational, not informational; it is meant to transform our actions, empowering us to resist our unhealthy impulses and to reinforce our healthy instincts.
our memory is meant to be a facilitator, not an impeder.
To be responsible means to recognize that we are response-able, able to choose our responses.
To restrain the mind and to be peaceful means that they don’t dwell on agitating stimuli; even if such stimuli come within their perception, they don’t give undue attention to them, thereby preventing unnecessary agitation.
we just need to expect obstacles too and learn to respond to them resourcefully, not resentfully.
However bleak the things we live with, if we focus on the things we live for, we can create a better future for ourselves.
