
Today’s Quote: “Mental and emotional effort means finding the ways and means of overcoming a problem. Be calm and continue pushing ahead.” -MCKS
We all have the choice of what to think and feel (no really, I’m serious)….yet many of us drop into our default thoughts and feelings because its much easier to observe (passive) ‘what is’ vs creating (effort) what we want.
And this is where EFFORT comes in.
Remember when you were in grade school and learning the multiplication tables?
Did it require a lot of mental effort to remember those tables? (that’s if you weren’t a math whiz) You not only had to study in class, but had homework in the evenings on the kitchen table and maybe even had to memorize flash cards on the weekends.
That’s a lot for a second-graders brain with all the other new subjects she is learning.
But eventually, your mental effort paid off and you were able to rattle off the multiplication tables like it was ain’t no thang.
Now, let me ask you….when was the last time you used mental effort like that?
Studying for a professional exam?
Going back to school for a Masters, MBA or PhD?
Attending a professional development course or seminar?
If so, congratulations!
Most people stop putting in mental effort once they are out of college…the majority of people read less than a book a year and the Top CEOs in the country read over 60 books per year. That might be a clue.
Watch the same TV shows. Read the same genre of books. Listen to same kinds of music. Have the same kinds of conversations. Drive the same road to and fro from work and home. Do the same gym exercises….on and on.
We become passive observers of our lives and the world around us.
Memorizing, analyzing, understanding, discerning, calculating all takes lots and lots of mental energy and effort but by putting in mental effort NOW you will develop more skills, increase your understanding of yourself and life, add to your personal and professional success and stave off Alzheimers and senility in old age.
Ways to develop mental effort:
Read different kinds of books; fiction, non fiction, biographical, romance, technical…
Study new subjects.
Study current subjects deeper.
Learn a new language.
Start a business.
Learn your current language better.
Interview experts in areas you are unfamiliar.
Include ALL your senses in the learning process.
Solve problems for friends and family members
Ask questions about the world and yourself that you’ve never asked before
One of my favorite, brain stretching books of all time is Jump Start Your Brain by Doug Hall which is filled with dozens of brain exercises to challenge the way you look at the world and come up with solutions to current problems you would have never imagined possible.
The form of yoga which is the most mental is known as Jnana Yoga, the Yoga of Understanding. The smartest people in the world are most likely Jnana Yogis.
These are the people who attempt to know or experience God through the mind and very few people on the planet are mentally developed enough to practice the path of the true Jnana Yogi.
It would be like expecting an average 1st grader to clearly explain quantum physics to a group of quantum physicists. The 1st grader simply doesn’t have the mental development to do it…yet.
But wait….what’s the other kind of effort we have to be aware of?
Oh yeah, that’s right…emotional effort, which might even be more important than mental effort.
Because with the all the ‘ways to develop mental effort’ which mentioned earlier such as learning a new language…starting a business…interviewing experts… downloading Doug Hall’s book?
“Eh, I’ll get to it later…I don’t ‘feel’ like it now.’
“I ‘fear’ looking stupid with a new subject.”
“I’m not comfortable with being ‘rejected’ by an expert.”
So if you choose to blaze a trail with any of these new ways to develop mental effort….you will meet the emotions of frustration, laziness, anger, anxiety, impatience, doubt, stress and awkwardness as you go through a new learning curve…
See how important emotional effort is?
How many of us know EXTREMELY smart people who can’t seem to solve simple life problems while others who may not be the brightest stars in the sky have achieved extraordinary personal and professional success?
The smart person (in this case) lacks emotional mastery.
The person who has the ability to remain calm while practicing mental effort (strong Ajna) and emotional effort (strong solar plexus) can do great things and solve almost any problem.
Remaining calm is KEY…
Have you noticed when you are super stressed out and frantic, you tend to make more mistakes with a problem than if you just remain cool, calm and collected with that same problem?
Through the Pranic Healing perspective, by doing the Twin Hearts Meditation on a regular basis, you are able to cleanse, energize and harmonize the aura, meridians and all the major chakras, so you can remain calm while practicing your mental and emotional efforts.
What kinds of results does SUPER STRESSED OUT produce in…
School exams?
Business deals?
Product development?
Physical health?
Relationships?
Meditation practice?
Family vacations?
Or overcoming any number of lives problems?
The answer is…SUB PAR RESULTS.
Now what kinds of results does being calm produce?
Optimal, yes?
The takeaway is very simple….meditate daily.
Last point, without having emotional mastery, its near impossible to think about a situation accurately and clearly. When a person is under tremendous stress and unable to control his emotions…all he sees is gloom, doom, failure and no resolution…the mental body takes a backseat, in essence, he stops thinking clearly.
When the emotional roller coaster is over and his emotional body ‘calms’ down…the mental body can once again become activate and get back to the problem at hand.
There is a lot of validity to our emotions and it requires us being aware of them but not being dominated by them.
“Oh…there’s that emotion of anger.”
I am not the anger, I AM calm.
“Oh, there’s that emotion of jealousy sneaking in.”
I am not the jealousy, I AM calm.
“Oh, there’s that big ‘n burly fear!”
I am not the fear, I AM calm.
“Oh, there’s that feeling of unworthiness.”
I am not the unworthiness, I AM calm.
“Oh, there’s that boredom again and again and again.”
I am not the boredom, I AM calm.
“Oh, there’s that pesky doubt talking again.”
I am not the doubt, I AM calm.
When MCKS was developing, refining and spreading Pranic Healing & Arhatic Yoga to over 90 countries, writing over 20 books, developing over 20 classes for the ordinary person to understand and implement, nurturing students around the world, running 13 businesses and being sleep deprived for 25 years…do you think the Teacher had to master mental and emotional effort?
With a sharp mind and an iron will, you too can accomplish great things in your life and the lives of others. With God and Teacher’s blessings, so be it.
You’ve got this!
Atma Namaste.
Announcements:
- Tomorrow is Day 3 of the 31 Days of Living the Teachings in celebration of MCKS’ birth month, the meditation will be on prosperity, so join in the cosmic fun.
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