Focus on Life™

We love routines and predictability even if we are not openly admitting it. They give us the feeling of security and being in control of issues. Still, we are only thinking that nothing changes while everything around us is in constant move and a state of flux. We just do not register incremental shifts—and therefore we are often taken by surprise with more or less radical consequences.

Business world is a good case in point about continuous change. Organisations tend to get used to their positions and organisational charts showing how the business is structured and is supposed to be run. But customers do not like to repeat things over and over again without improvements or even trying something entirely different. This creates the urge for adjustments and new ideas. If there is no demand there is no organisation either—in the long run. No matter how nice the current business unit, division, or team you are having but if it does not serve any real need anymore it must go.

Voluntary change requires a lot. You need to be active, open, sensitive, and humble for new ideas—even radical ones. In addition, boldness and courage are in great demand in order to carry out the required changes in a swift manner. Detachment is as important for a business organisation as it is for personal development. If you fall in love with your position or routines you will lose the game in the future. Sensitivity for the unknown and being constantly listening and observing are the only ways to ensure that you earn your current leadership position over and over again. Humility is the only friend of success.

Large masses tend to move very slowly first. But even icebergs melt in wrong climate. The same applies to corporations that are looking today’s world through their rose-coloured glasses of past success. They see what they want to see and even pretend not to notice the signals of change. Delaying issues do not make them to disappear—often things just get worse. Massive layoffs and organisational restructurings and turnarounds tell their story of inevitability of change—you either adjust sooner or later or you just simply disappear altogether.

How to remain dynamic and flexible without clinging too much in the past? Focus on your capabilities and competences. Everybody needs to keep learning new skills and enrich their know-how and experience, all the time. If you regard change as a fact of live that enables you to do new things and have exciting opportunities you are less likely in need of panic actions or last-minute reactions. Do you enjoy what you are doing? Are you delivering good value and the best possible quality in your job? We tend to drop the ball way before we admit it to ourselves. We are not motivated and life seems boring, because we are stuck into our routines. This should be a very good warning sign that you have snoozed. Each morning after you wake up draw either a happy or sad smiley in your calendar for a month. Check the results and count the amount of happy faces full of anticipation and excitement for the new day. If you find way too many sad faces you may need to reconsider your priorities—change is only a thought away.

Meditation is preparation for the continuous steady state of
enlightenment, a process where one is adjusting to shift the
consciousness onto a higher level. Doing this requires con-
centration and undivided attention. Still, we cannot progress
by physical “force” or pure power of will. We have to reach a
higher (or finer) state where we are capable of oscillating the
energy state that enables the free energy flow without any
resistance or interference (i.e., lower consciousness or ego).

We have to become the flow itself in order to oscillate it.
Opening the higher frequencies requires everything the prac-
titioner has, but still it is not a process of becoming. It cannot
be achieved, it can only be realized. In other words, we have
to reach the state where the energy flow is self-sustaining and
harmonious. By will power alone we cannot sustain it. Also
premature stimulation of the energy centers is pointless, if not
counterproductive.

At the urge of enlightenment we have to work hard to find
the right final tone missing. We have to reach for it and be
capable of sustaining it in order to open up the final barrier or
resonator. The consciousness shifts smoothly and under con-
trol to its natural state (or a physical place where we are able
to sense it) where it is out of the way (or in harmony) with the
energy flow.

The process is incremental and can take days. The practi-
tioner gets to know the new states and understands their
operations. This makes it easier and more familiar along the
way. The understanding and comprehension accumulates as
well. It is a very natural and harmonious but nevertheless
demanding process.

Some tips for a serious practitioner advanced in the journey:

• You are not expected to do anything, only realize.
• You cannot force it; it happens when you are totally
  relaxed and in harmony.
• You must free your body of tension and the urge to
  achieve.
• You should understand this is a quest of consciousness,
  not of the body or will power.
• You must realize that until you are love and loving
  kindness in harmony, you are not there.
• You must follow your instincts and be persistent.
• You should understand it is not a competition or about
  achievement.
• You should not exhaust yourself; nevertheless, the
  process is demanding.
• You should be gentle and forgiving; unconditional love
  is all it takes.
• You know, you can, so you are.

Advice for beginners:

• You need firm concentration; once this is sustained, the
  practitioner is capable of maintaining that concentra-
  tion even while physically doing something.
• You should understand that meditation only helps you;
  it is a technique—nothing more.
• You can never be too humble, kind, and loving—these
  are the real exercise.
• You can progress only through continuous and relent-
  less effort.
• You have to be the harmony and love at all times—so
  you do not need any particular place or situation to
  practice it.
• You should realize that frequent meditation sessions are
  most important, but the real test is your everyday life.
• You need to understand that enlightenment should not
  be your goal—if it is, consider your motives once again.

Our belief structures define who we are and how we interpret
the world. They are our point of view and allow us to view the
world through rose-colored glasses. We adjust the external
world according to our beliefs. Beliefs are our world, and they
are us. Hence they are very powerful and have a great impact
on us.

When we interact with other people, we interact with their
belief structures. If these beliefs are aligned, we feel under-
stood and the interaction is a very pleasant experience. On the
other hand, if others’ beliefs do not fit into our world, they
can threaten or distress us.

We stick to our beliefs. We lock into our bunkers, and try
to keep the base safe as long as possible. This is very impor-
tant because otherwise we are bound to change our under-
standing of our existence, which often means giving up
something and adjusting our life accordingly. We have a huge
intolerance for change and uncertainty. Questioning our con-
ventional ways of categorizing and seeing the world imposes
an immediate threat for who we believe we are and how the
world is constructed according to our understanding.

Until we give up believing and creating thought structures,
we are tied up and imprisoned by them. They bound limits to
our lives and prevent us from experiencing the external world
without filters and mental handicaps.

Many times it looks like we live for our worries. They sur-
round us and follow us everywhere we go. There might be a
lot to worry about or just many tiny issues that pile up and
make us uncomfortable. Worries are always subjective and
they also evolve over time. We learn to cope in life and do not
stress about the same things over and over again. Our subjects
of worrying change, but the basic concept remains intact—we
keep constantly stressing about our future and survival.

We build up expectations and then start to stress about
possible future outcomes. What-if scenarios with different
variations fill our mind and we cannot get past the mind’s
loops. Some of these worries may turn into obsessions and
even disturb our sleep and daily activities.

We worry because we cannot imagine anything else that
we are aware of. This means that our limited perception and
knowledge does not allow us to solve the puzzles our mind
has put in front of us to solve. Often, we are going around
with our thoughts that are dependent on factors that are
beyond our control. We desperately would like to know what
happens before the actual reality materializes. We cannot
stand uncertainty. Actually, we are only afraid of the uncer-
tainty. Even knowing what is going to happen, no matter how
bad, is more bearable than the great uncertainty.

We can continue worrying about everything in our life
nonstop. We can never know the future and, therefore, there
are always possibilities to come up with new unknown issues
or situations. This is not necessary, however. We do not need
to stress about life—it’s totally unnecessary. The paradox just
is that we have to realize this first and then we are liberated
from the catch-22. It is the same with most of the important
facts of life—we have to live them true, gain an insight first.
We have to see the pattern that our mind repeats every time.
It identifies some unknown issues and starts to process them.
This way, our mind keeps us busy—after all, our mind exists
only when we think.

The process to stop worrying can be started by gradual
steps: accomplish the small things first and move to bigger
and more significant items later. When we start to realize that
things do get sorted out and worrying really is unnecessary,
we will finally stop worrying altogether. Worrying has a lot to
do with self-confidence and acceptance. We have to know
and trust ourselves. When we are confident that we can han-
dle and manage in life no matter what comes our way, this
inner confidence will guide us and provide us with inner
peace. We stop worrying about other people and their
responses and thoughts about us. Our greatest concern will
then be to act according to our own intuitions and feeling
about what are the right choices and actions in the situations
at hand. As well, we realize that things that are beyond our
control should not be worried about at all—we simply have to
accept them, as they are and without any denial or resistance.
Facing the facts is often the most difficult part. We do not
want to admit the reality, even though we might somehow
realize it. It is just something too painful to accept.

By worrying we lose a lot of energy. Our mind keeps us
occupied and in the negative thoughts that tie us in a destruc-
tive loop. Instead of finding solutions or positive outcomes,
we are trapped in a loop of thoughts that lead nowhere. The
time we use wondering about our possible future we cannot
then use to find and identify new opportunities that may
bypass us in the meanwhile. Often, the very answers we look
for are offered to us but we simply cannot see them—we are
fixed in our thinking patterns and projected outcomes. In
other words, we are too busy worrying and life, and many
good moments and opportunities as well, passes us by.

Those people with great wisdom have always said that we
should stop worrying. Still, we do not believe them. Our life
has taught us that it will give us unpleasant surprises and liv-
ing hurts. We are afraid of the outcomes. Therefore, we con-
stantly try to avoid any imaginable disturbance or negative
incident. Still, these incidents come when we least expect
them—we cannot avoid them. We even die one day—no
matter how much we worry or think about it. Worrying does
not help us to live. Actually, it does not allow us to experience
and enjoy life as it comes, and it keeps us obsessed about some
future incident that potentially can happen or may not hap-
pen at all. The only one who loses in this game is us.
Worrying is time wasted without any positive outcomes
expected—one of the great lessons to learn in life.

Why is it so easy to see the faults in others and be blind to our own? Often we jump to conclusions and judge other people on the outset. The fact is that we do similar or different mistakes in our life everyday—often we just do not recognise them.

The faults of others are an excellent mirror for ourself. By seeing the behaviour and actions of others we can learn from their deeds and correct our own behaviour in return. In addition we can be reminded of the shortcomings we have already been overcome by noticing the same issues in other people. This should make us humble and kindly acknowledge us that we are not perfect either. Everybody has their own shortcomings and they do their own choices and bear the consequences as well. We can do our part but we should not try to judge or intervene to their choices. Even less we should get provoked or irritated. This definitely do not help the others to realise that there might be something to improve in their actions. Everyone is a mirror for everybody else and therefore each human interaction is an outstanding opportunity to learn from the other, and upmost learn about ourself.

We are often just struggling. Life is something we have to
struggle through. We react, and most of the things are just
issues that we have to handle. The attitude toward life is that
we have to. Most of the things we are required to do like we
would not have a choice. But what would you do if you could
do what you want instead of what you had to?

We can live our entire life with the “I have to” state of
mind. But this has a negative connotation and a pessimistic
tone. “I’m the victim and all these things fall to me to sort
out.” This ideology is fine if you like to live this way. Yet it is
not necessary to struggle and play the victim all your life. The
circumstances may be the same and all the hardship still may
be ahead of us, but we can definitely decide which way to deal
with them.

It took me awhile to realize this point. I know others who
have done this differently and very concretely. I achieved my
realization through mental practice; I did it this way because I
knew that I could carry it out the hard way if necessary. So it
was not just simple lip service or dreaming. I started to go
through all the things that I had to do. When I have to do
something, it is out of necessity, and this means that I’m
forced into the situation—I don’t do it willingly. First I went
through my list of things I had to do and came to the conclu-
sion that I actually do not have to do anything—at all. I do
not even have to die—it will be taken care of automatically
when my time is up. So, there is absolutely nothing that I
have to do. What now?

Then I started to consider what I would like to do. What
would be important and meaningful to me? The things you
choose do not necessarily need to be fun and easy—but they
have to be truly significant to you. You can only give them a
meaning and purpose. Step by step, you can start to get an
idea of things that you regard as meaningful and things that
you can do. Up to this point in your life, if you have lived the
right way, by listening to your own intuition, it should not be
a surprise that the things you choose during the exercise
might be pretty close to the reality you are already living.
Naturally, this might not be the case. But there is a funda-
mental difference now between the old situation and the new
one—the approach and the attitude. Before the exercise, you
had to do things and now you can do those things.

Our ordinary life becomes a set of routines that we take for
granted. Our lifestyle and the choices we make are like neces-
sities and obvious things that should be. Therefore, our life
also starts to feel like a “have-to” achieving competition.
When we question the reasons for the things we do and
weigh their real purpose and significance, we may see things
differently. We start to appreciate the choices we make and
things around us. They are not necessities anymore, but
things that we enjoy and want to do. And this is a big differ-
ence. Previously, we were unhappy carrying out things and
feeling bad, but when we have been given the opportunity to
do these things and see the purpose and meaning of them, it
is a pleasure to contribute and carry them out—even the rou-
tine things.

This is a way to process things without any major crises.
Naturally, we start to appreciate things when we face choices
in a hard way. When we lose our health or have only a few
moments to live, we start to see life differently. Suddenly
there are not so many things we have to do, but instead things
we can do. It would be a shame to lose a major part of our life
because of the “have to do” attitude, especially when we could
do and experience the same things with an open mind and
positive joy of accomplishment. The choice is ours.