1. Listen to your body's wisdom, which expresses itself through
signals of comfort and discomfort. When choosing a certain behavior, ask
your body, ³How do you feel about this?² If your body sends a signal of
physical or emotional distress, watch out. If your body sends a signal of
comfort and eagerness, proceed.
2. Live in the present, for it is the only moment you have.
Keep your attention on what is here and now; look for the fullness in every
moment. Accept what comes to you totally and completely so that you can
appreciate it, learn from it, and then let it go. The present is as it
should be. It reflects infinite laws of Nature that have brought you this
exact thought, this exact physical response. This moment is as it is
because the universe is as it is. Donıt struggle against the infinite
scheme of things; instead, be at one with it.
3. Take time to be silent, to meditate, to quiet the internal
dialogue. In moments of silence, realize that you are re-contacting your
source of pure awareness. Pay attention to your inner life so that you can
be guided by intuition rather than externally imposed interpretations of
what is or isnıt good for you.
4. Relinquish your need for external approval. You alone are
the judge of your worth, and your goal is to discover infinite worth in
yourself, no matter what anyone else thinks. There is great freedom in this
realization.
5. When you find yourself reacting with anger or opposition to
any person or circumstance, realize that you are only struggling with
yourself. Putting up resistance is the response of defenses created by old
hurts. When you relinquish this anger, you will be healing yourself and
cooperating with the flow of the universe.
6. Know that the world ³out there² reflects your reality ³in
here². The people you react to most strongly, whether with love or hate,
are projections of your inner world. What you most hate is what you most
deny in yourself. What you most love is what you most wish for in yourself.
Use the mirror of relationships to guide your evolution. The goal is total
self-knowledge. When you achieve that, what you most want will automatically
be there, and what you most dislike will disappear.
7. Shed the burden of judgment you will feel much lighter.
Judgment imposes right and wrong on situations that just are. Everything
can be understood and forgiven, but when you judge, you cut off
understanding and shut down the process of learning to love. In judging
others, you reflect your lack of self-acceptance. Remember that every
person you forgive adds to your self-love.
8. Donıt contaminate your body with toxins, either through food,
drink, or toxic emotions. Your body is more than a life-support system. It
is the vehicle that will carry you on the journey of your evolution. The
health of every cell directly contributes to your state of well being,
because every cell is a point of awareness within the field of awareness
that is you.
9. Replace fear-motivated behavior with love-motivated behavior.
Fear is the product of memory, which dwells in the past. Remembering what
hurt us before, we direct our energies toward making certain that an old
hurt will not repeat itself. But trying to impose the past on the present
will never wipe out the threat of being hurt. That happens only when you
find the security of your own being, which is love. Motivated by the truth
inside you, you can face any threat because your inner strength is
invulnerable to fear.
10. Understand that the physical world is just a mirror of a
deeper intelligence. Intelligence is the invisible organizer of all matter
and energy, and since a portion of this intelligence resides in you, you
share in the organizing power of the cosmos. Because you are inseparably
linked to everything, you cannot afford to foul the planetıs air and water.
But at a deeper level, you cannot afford to live with a toxic mind, because
every thought makes an impression on the whole field of intelligence.
Living in balance and purity is the highest good for you and the Earth.
To find out how you can live from the source of lasting happiness, read
Deepak's new book, Power, Freedom, and Grace. (Amber-Allen Publishing)