One of the reasons we find ourselves exploring different spiritual modalities and practices is a desire to re-educate the mind so it can get on-board with us as we go through the awakening process.
By awakening I mean waking up from the world in which we live that is both transitory and illusionary. In this world, most every thought we think is running on old ‘brain tracks’ – brain tracks of learned behavior that may or may not serve us. When we are awakening to the world we really are as opposed to the world we think we are, the mind (also called the ego) can create all kinds of havoc as it resists the change awakening brings – havoc which ranges from procrastination to illness, to life appearing to fall apart.
There are many great teachers whose work can help to enlighten the mind. When the mind has a greater understanding, the resistance to awakening is reduced and eventually the mind can be invoked constructively to support the expression of Life through this physical entity.
Throughout my years of awakening my study has taken many different forms. I was actively involved in an organization called The Americana Leadership College – a world-wide organization that was my apprenticeship into a world beyond the merely physical. I was with them for about 17 years and I learned so much that helped me become a more authentic and adventurous spirit. I spent some time with Solara of 11:11 fame.
Various trainings have helped over the years too – such as Conscious Breathing and Neuro Linguistic Practitioner training.
I have always read a lot and have had many teachers who have made a marked difference in my life through their writings, starting in the 70s with Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay and Shakti Gawain through to Deepak Chopra and Eckhart Tolle and so many others. Perhaps one of the most influential was Richard Bach who wrote, amongst many other titles, Illusions. I recall the first stirring then that perhaps I too could be a writer, so impressed was I with Richard’s work.
And a great little tool I have for reminding me to come into the Present Moment when I am working on my computer is Stillness Buddy. See the Links page for references you might find interesting.
The point is, as you need it, the teacher appears. You may stay with a particular teacher for a day or a week or a lifetime, The time period doesn’t matter. The awakening process does and I have found it infinitely helpful to have something on the burner so that I keep my awareness pot simmering. Right now I like to listen to Eckhart Tolle as I get ready in the morning. I am a subscriber to the Eckhart Tolle TV program. I download it onto my iPad and voila, there is Eckhart saying just the thing I need to hear. Or you may not want or need a teacher. The ultimate teacher is the teacher within.
Meditation helps, as does making times for stillness during my day.
Then there are the times when all hell breaks loose and my mind throws an absolute hissy fit. All the symptoms that I am aware of as brain-tracks seem to rear their ugly heads at once and I wonder where my peace and understanding went. I write at length about these various brain-tracks and what works for me as solutions. The main thing I know at these times is that I have become disconnected from the essence of who I am and I need to find Me again very soon.
Along with educating my brain so it too can recognize brain tracks in motion, being in nature helps enormously. I love nature. The means I use to bring nature to me wherever I am is through my photographs, which is why you will nearly always see a photograph along with my writing. A picture says a thousand words.