Discovering Your Personal Creativity and Vision

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...continued

The third weapon is wisdom.

When you watch your breathing, watch it at the solar plexus. You will notice a subtle rise and fall of the diaphragm there. Make sure you are breathing from your belly and not your chest, Visionaries always breathe from their belly because they are warriors. If you breathe from your chest, you are fearful and tense. And if you cannot even watch your breathing for more than a few seconds before thoughts carry you away, this indicates how seriously thought has eroded your creative and visionary nature. You are not your thoughts. They are only tools that a visionary uses to facilitate with. You are not your memory, which is merely a tool as well. What you inherently are is the freedom to create and envision.

Since we have been thinking non-stop since birth, watching thoughts so that we can gain mastery over them can be a little tricky to begin with. There are so many thoughts and they are so fast that it's like trying to catch a train going a hundred miles an hour. We must find a way to slow the train down. The easiest way to slow the train down is to keep one BIG thought in mind, and then the millions of other little thoughts can't surface. The best BIG thought to keep in mind is the one that is with you at all times; which is simply your breathing. When you direct your mind to your breathing, that's a thought! "I'm watching my breathing." Then, all the little thoughts can't get in.

The interesting thing about this simple substitution of one BIG thought for all the little thoughts is that the little thoughts that you have been harboring go away for awhile, and when they go away, the mind finds some breathing space. You never know what will come of that space; sometimes immensely creative things!

It's easy to begin practicing one BIG thought. Before you go to bed every night, sit on the floor, knees crossed, back straight, and watch your breathing at the solar plexus. The belly will subtly go in and out. Think, "I am watching my breath." And then just watch the belly go in and out without even thinking about it. If a stray thought comes into your mind that takes your attention off your belly going in and out, then as soon as you discover that you have been ambushed by a little thought, go back to the BIG thought, "I am watching my breathing."

Do this exercise unfailingly; no matter if the house is burning down! Regardless of all the traffic noises. It's that important. If you can't do this and you skip the discipline, this reflects how you have been handling your life. The twenty minutes you spend each morning and evening will become a direct reflection of your life, and as you calm the many thoughts that have been blocking your creativity, you will begin to discover freedom, right in the middle of ordinary life, and that will change your entire direction.

Applications will naturally present themselves once you master discipline and focus. Discipline and focus must be worked on in the same manner that a warrior sharpens his weapons before battle, with the utmost precision and care. In time, as you refine your discipline and focus, you will notice subtle improvements or changes in your morning routine. Or you might notice a tree, or a building that you have never really been aware of before. In time, these insights will arise in many facets of your life; and at some point, your innate, personal brand of creativity will infuse all aspects of your day as you find yourself completely absorbed in each moment instead of lost in the dark world of the past and the uncertain world of the future. When that happens, you will be on your way to restoring your natural creativity and visionary authority. You will have become a true warrior.

Don't make the mistake of underestimating this advice. Underneath your everyday thoughts and consciousness is the wisdom of eternity. All you have to do is tap into it.

And now you know the secret of the visionaries. Good luck.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, www.SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com His twenty-nine years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit www.AYearToEnlightenment.com

This document last modified Monday, 16-Feb-2009 09:12:19 CST

Tidbits & Stuff was born on Thursday, March 9, 2006
© 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Felicia A. Williams

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