How to Make an Effective
Resolution
Happy New Year!
This is a time when many of us resolve to make changes.
May we do so wisely. Yet, what does it mean to make
wise resolutions?
Our lives are comprised of our habits. How we function
is the result of habitual patterns, deeply ingrained
into our very physiologies, the manifestation of conditioning
arising from the sum total of our life experiences.
For any resolution to be truly effective, it is not
enough to try to change our behavior. The tonal quality
of our body tissues must shift. As a result of those
shifts, our behavior changes in a complete and genuine
manner.
But how does one achieve that? Forcing yourself is
usually successful for a short period of time, if at
all. Public gyms and spas capitalize on that fact, selling
vast numbers of memberships every New Year, knowing
full well the great majority of members will quit after
just a few months. So, the question becomes, how do
we genuinely shift our habitual patterns? The typical
approach is to instill another conditioning, superimposing
it over the old conditioning, attempting to bury the
old conditioning under the rug. This endless cycle of
allegiance to one conditioning and then the next, I
call the Wheel of Karma. Round and round in circles
we go.
There is a better way. Your true nature is unique to
you. It is also divine. By living in accord with your
true nature, all aspects of your life will prosper.
However, your true nature is a mystery. It cannot be
attained through conditioning and certainly not by replacing
your old conditioning with a new one. So, this New Year,
I invite you to make the resolution to delve into that
mystery. Explore your life. Through such exploration,
till the soil of your inner being. That tilling of the
soil loosens, softens, and purifies conditioning. Additionally,
resolve to more and more fully awaken to your true nature
by meditating. By resolving to do these two things,
the underlying intent of all resolutions is addressed
directly—the intent to improve your life and your
world.
Humanity is at the doorstep of realizing that success
and fulfillment lie beyond the grasp of superimposed
conditioning. True success and fulfillment are like
swimming with the flow of the river. Your true nature
carries you to the goal—a better, more fulfilling
life. Humanity currently has the habit of swimming against
the flow, attempting to conform to superimposed conditioning
in the name of obtaining a better life. May we affirm
our resolution to align with the divine flow of our
true nature. That flow I sometimes refer to as “the
cosmic stream.” It cannot be defined, for to define
it is to compromise it. It can only be rested into through
the emancipation of your divine inner being—the
level of your being that lies beyond the grasp of definition
and conditioning.
It is fascinating to note how challenging this can
be. You would think it is simply a matter of taking
the plunge and allowing the stream to carry you. But
our conditioning comes in the form of our resistance
to make that leap. We live of, by, and for our conditioning.
It is our self-justifying, self-perpetuating, circular
convictions, thoughts, and emotions cloaked in the facade
of our safety, truths, beliefs, and longings.
This holiday season, my prayer for you is to make the
resolution or the reaffirmation to free yourself. Take
the plunge into the cosmic stream that will carry your
life to what it is you truly long for.
Pragmatically speaking, this means number one: do the
Surya Ram Meditation.1 It is best to do so
morning and evening, twice daily, at a specific time
before activity begins. On the other hand, this may
be too challenging for many. So, resolve to explore
the matter. Find times that work for you. If such time
is in the middle of the night, so be it. If the only
way you can bring yourself to meditate is to do it occasionally
for short periods of time when the inclination feels
right, then begin with that. In time, the cosmic stream
will carry you. Finding the time to meditate will cease
to be an effort. It will become a passion. It is then
you know you are attuning to the cosmic stream of your
true nature. Nothing feels so sweet… nothing so
awesome.
Number two: do your personal process2. Your
inner exploration tills the soil and frees you from
conditioning. To reemphasize, this process is elusive.
You can justify anything with the intellect, and that
is exactly what people do. Ultimately, it seems we are
all remarkably stubborn. This is just another way of
saying our conditioning dies hard. Be willing to consider
where you resist. Be willing to have the courage to
explore the conditioned nature of that resistance. Armed
with the knowledge that your true nature too has convictions,
distinguish between your true convictions and the convictions
of your conditioning. If you are able to take in honest,
reflective, and heartfelt feedback from sincere and
dedicated loved ones, that feedback can go a long way
to free you from the self-justifications of your conditioning.
It requires that you listen wisely. It is a challenge
to listen, but it is even a greater challenge to listen
wisely. The art of listening, like everything else,
is riddled with paradox. Are they speaking from their
divine inner being or from their conditioning? And,
from which level within you are you listening?
May we all proclaim 2007 to be the year of Resolution!!!
The “R” is capitalized to emphasize the
resolution to commit to your true self, your unfathomable
self, your divine self, the self that dwells behind
the veil of conditioning.
© Michael Mamas, 12/06
1The
Surya Meditation can be learned free of charge
online. Learn
more about Surya Meditation. The TM meditation
can also be used.
2For
those who are new to the Surya Program, please know
that by personal process, we mean something unique
and very specific. It is the sublime art of inner
exploration done in a manner that frees one of conditioning.
Sadly, personal process is frequently done in a manner
that reinforces conditioning. We have courses that
go into great detail on how to do this elusive process. Learn more
about the Surya Program.
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