Magic path current challenge: concentrate on breathing

Breathing is constantly with us throughout our life. During the day pay attention to the rhythm and depth of breathing while walking, standing, sitting, climbing the stairs, communicating with other people or just relaxing. "Do the sweeping breath," she said. "Breathe in now." I moved my head from right to left, breathing in the energy that was still hopelessly caught in the exhibition hall. As I brought my head back to the right again, I exhaled all the embarrassment and self-pity that had enveloped me. I moved my head repeatedly, doing one sweeping breath after the other until all my emotional turmoil was released. Т.Аbelar "The Sorcerers' Crossing" Type: stopping the internal dialogue Difficulty: low

A course in miracles day 8

Lesson 8
My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.
1 This idea is, of course, the reason why you see only the past. No one really sees anything. He sees only his thoughts projected outward. The mind's preoccupation with the past is the cause of the total misconception about time from which your seeing suffers. Your mind cannot grasp the present, which is the only time there is. It therefore cannot understand time and cannot, in fact, understand anything.

2 The only wholly true thought one can hold about the past is that it is not here. To think about it at all is therefore to think about illusions. Very few minds have realized what is actually entailed in picturing the past or in anticipating the future. The mind is actually blank when it does this because it is not really thinking about anything.

3 The purpose of the exercises for today is to begin to train your mind to recognize when it is not really thinking at all. While thoughtless "ideas" preoccupy your mind, the truth is blocked. Recognizing that your mind has been merely blank, rather than believing that it is filled with real ideas, is the first step to opening the way to vision.

4 The exercises for today should be done with eyes closed. This is because you actually cannot see anything, and it is easier to recognize that, no matter how vividly you may picture a thought, you are not seeing anything. With as little investment as possible, search your mind for the usual minute or so, merely noting the thoughts you find there. Name each one by the central figure or theme it contains, and pass on to the next. Introduce the practice period by saying:

5 I seem to be thinking about _____.

6 Then name each of your thoughts specifically. For example:

7 I seem to be thinking about [name of person],
about [name of object], about [name of emotion];

8 and so on, concluding at the end of the mind-searching period with:

9 But my mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.

10 This can be done four or five times during the day, unless you find it irritates you. If you find it trying, three or four times are sufficient. You might find it helpful, however, to include your irritation, or any emotion which the idea may induce, in the mind searching itself.

Magic path current challenge: the rod inside

When we walk, the center of gravity usually shifts a little forward. Today move so that the center of gravity always remains in the middle. Feel the energy "rod" passing through your backbone. At the same time, the body should be relaxed, keep your back straight. Since ancient times people have wondered why human life ends at the age of 60, 70, 80...The plant world is a very different matter. Many trees live hundreds of years. They grow without feelings, desires and emotions in winter and summer, in the cold and heat, under the sun and rain. Their roots go deep into the earth and get water and all the necessary substances for life, which go up the trunk to the leaves. Their crown rushes up, washes by rain, ripples at the wind, baths in the sun during the day and receives the light of the stars and the moon during the night. And all this comes into the leaves, branches,trunk and goes down to the roots. Thus, the tree receives nutrients and energy from below, from the Earth, and from above, from Space. And they pass through the trunk to meet each other, accumulate and give the tree the opportunity to grow and live. Thus, the tree combines the Earth and Space. What if a man becomes like a tree? Will it prolong his life? For many years, the forms of such practice were selected and trained, until it was found that regular exercise of this kind really allows you to accumulate energy. Extract from the description of the Zhong Yuan Qigong practice "The big tree" Type: stopping the internal dialogue, saving energy Difficulty: low

Magic path current challenge: using only positive words only

During the day avoid using negative words and always use positive ones. "A warrior never lends himself to harmful displays of envy, hatred, resentment, and so on. He drowns them in his silence and lets them die slowly away." “What does that mean?” "It means that a warrior avoids uttering sentences with connotations contrary to his interest, like, for example, ‘I hate this or that’ or ‘I cannot stand this.’ By avoiding those and similar comments, a warrior is cleansed and cured of debilitating concepts. Observe that the idea here is to reinforce the positive and reduce the negative. Even when saying, ‘Don't do this or that’ one actually suggests that YES, it can be done. Such is human nature. It is therefore important to cultivate the ideas of strength and beauty in the mind, because they are the filter through which we look at the world. Armando Torres "The Secret of a Plumed Serpent" Type: intention, not doing Difficulty: low

A course in miracles day 6

Lesson 6
I am upset because I see
something that is not there.
1 The exercises with this idea are very similar to the preceding ones. Again, it is necessary to name both the form of upset (anger, fear, worry, depression, and so on) and the perceived source very specifically for any application of the idea. For example:

2 I am angry at ___ because I see something that is not there.
I am worried about ___ because I see something that is not there.

3Today's idea is useful for application to anything that seems to upset you and can profitably be used throughout the day for that purpose. However, the three or four practice periods which are required should be preceded by a minute or so of mind searching, as before, and the application of the idea to each upsetting thought uncovered in the search.

4 Again, if you resist applying the idea to some upsetting thoughts more than to others, remind yourself of the two cautions stated in the previous lesson:

5There are no small upsets. They are all
equally disturbing to my peace of mind.

6And:

7 I cannot keep this form of upset and let
the others go. For the purposes of these exercises,
then, I will regard them all as the same.

Magic path current challenge: meeting with friends as if for the first time

Imagine that every person you meet, you see for the first time. Throw out any critical judgments and look at the people you know with an unbiased look. Do they really deserve the way you treat them? Maybe it's time to break up with someone, or, on the contrary, to establish closer relationship with others. "Identifying is the chief obstacle to self-remembering. A man who identifies with anything is unable to remember himself. In order to remember oneself it is necessary first of all not to identify. But in order to learn not to identify man must first of all not be identified with himself, must not call himself 'I' always and on all occasions. He must remember that there are two in him, that there is himself, that is 'I' in him, and there is another with whom he must struggle and whom he must conquer if he wishes at any time to attain anything. So long as a man identifies or can be identified, he is the slave of everything that can happen to him. Freedom is first of all freedom from identification. "After general forms of identification attention must be given to a particular form of identifying, namely identifying with people, which takes the form of 'considering' them. "There are several different kinds of 'considering.' "On the most prevalent occasions a man is identified with what others think about him, how they treat him, what attitude they show towards him. He always thinks that people do not value him enough, are not sufficiently polite and courteous. All this torments him, makes him think and suspect and lose an immense amount of energy on guesswork, on suppositions, develops in him a distrustful and hostile attitude towards people. How somebody looked at him, what somebody thought of him, what somebody said of him—all this acquires for him an immense significance. P.Ouspensky "In Search of the Miraculous" Type: losing self-importance Difficulty: low

A course in miracles day 5

Lesson 5
I am never upset for the reason I think.
1 This idea, like the preceding one, can be used with any person, situation, or event you think is causing you pain. Apply it specifically to whatever you believe is the cause of your upset, using the description of the feeling in whatever term seems accurate to you. The upset may seem to be fear, worry, depression, anxiety, anger, hatred, jealousy, or any number of forms, all of which will be perceived as different. This is not true. However, until you learn that form does not matter, each form becomes a proper subject for the exercises for the day. Applying the same idea to each of them separately is the first step in ultimately recognizing they are all the same.

2 When using the idea for today for a specific perceived cause of an upset in any form, use both the name of the form in which you see the upset and the cause which you ascribe to it. For example:

3 I am not angry at ____ for the reason I think.
I am not afraid of ____ for the reason I think.

4 But again, this should not be substituted for practice periods in which you first search your mind for "sources" of upset in which you believe and forms of upset which you think result.

5 In these exercises, more than in the preceding ones, you may find it hard to be indiscriminate and to avoid giving greater weight to some subjects than to others. It might help to precede the exercises with the statement:

6 There are no small upsets. They are all
equally disturbing to my peace of mind.

7 Then examine your mind for whatever is distressing you, regardless of how much or how little you think it is doing so.

8 You may also find yourself less willing to apply today's idea to some perceived sources of upset than to others. If this occurs, think first of this:

9 I cannot keep this form of upset and let
the others go. For the purposes of these
exercises, then, I will regard them all as the same.

10 Then search your mind for no more than a minute or so, and try to identify a number of different forms of upset that are disturbing you, regardless of the relative importance you may give them. Apply the idea for today to each of them, using the name of both the source of the upset as you perceive it and of the feelings as you experience it. Further examples are:

11 I am not worried about ____ for the reason I think.
I am not depressed about ____ for the reason I think.

12 Three or four times during the day are enough.