3. LIVE ETHICALLY
FEEL GOOD BY DOING GOOD
Taoism- “Regard your neighbor’s gain as your gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.”
FIRST, DO NO HARM.
Martin Luther King Jr. – “The non violent approach does not immediately change the heart of the oppressor. It first does something to the hearts and souls of those committed to it. It gives them a new self-respect; it calls up resources of strength and courage that they did not know they had. Finally, it reaches the opponent and so stirs his conscience that reconciliation becomes a reality.”
The central motive underlying mature ethics is kindness, which has two aims: to be both harmless and helpful.
Confucius- “Not to mend one’s ways when one has erred is to err indeed.”
GUILDLINES FOR HEALING THE PAST
- Undo any damage
- Aim for solutions in which everyone wins.
- Avoid attack
- Communicate
- Learn
Ethical Living: TELL THE TRUTH, GIVE UP GOSSIP, COMMUNICATE TO HEAL
4. CONCENTRATE AND CALM YOUR MIND
DEVELOP A PEACEFUL MIND.
The Buddha said, “May you develop mental concentration, for whosoever is mentally concentrated, sees things according to reality.”
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali —“Our essential nature is usually overshadowed by the activity of the mind… When the mind has settled, we are established in our essential nature which is unbounded consciousness.”
Kabir, 16th century Sufi mystic – “The breath that does not repeat the name of God is wasted breath.”
ESTABLISH A ROUTINE
- Setting time aside each day solely for meditation or prayer is invaluable. [15 minutes of silence every day – Contemplative Prayer, Meditation Practice]
- Freed of distractions and demands, the mind can come to rest, loose from trivial pursuits, and give full attention to what matters.
- Do one thing at a time.
- Transform daily rituals into sacred rituals.
- Repeat God’s name.