Ah Man Blog

Breaking the Addiction to Stimuli

We live in the information world.  Information is addictive.  And it’s very hard to break the addiction. We are programmed and brainwashed to believe that if we don’t stay ahead of the curve, we’ll be left behind.

While that’s certainly true for some things, it’s not true for everything. We really need to be more vigilant about what we listen to, watch and do.

It’s vital to know what is important and what is not.

I was at a retreat recently and the retreat leader’s website and email went down about two weeks before. He told us how busy he was prior to the system crash, what with emails and all. And then he found out that life went on without all of it. He eventually was able to get his email up and running and put a message on it saying:  “If you need to contact me, please call xxx-xxx-xxxx.”  By doing that, he eliminated so many hours of email a day from his life.

Of course, not many of us can do that. But we all have things we can cut out. Things we really do not have to be doing at that moment, allowing us to slow down for the moment.

So what is it for you?  What have you eliminated (or what can you eliminate) to help you become less addicted to the stimuli that surrounds you?

I’d love to hear from you.

Namaste,
Michael

To sign up to receive newsletters and updates from Michael, scroll to the bottom of the Ah-Man Web Site. You’ll find additional information and resources in the latest issue of the Ah-Man Newsletter.

To Receive is Divine

As part of my blog theme this month, the importance of taking time to be in the Presence, as described in the June edition of the Ah-Man Newsletter,  I want to share with you the following suggestions.

While you’re on vacation this year, practice “Receiving.”  After your morning meditation, as you go out about your day, try and see things from a different perspective.

What if you tried to see God in every living thing?

At the beach, for example, when you look out into the ocean, try to see the immensity and realize that that it is just a speck in Her creation. One grain of sand at the beach is similar to how small the ocean is in God’s creation. Our human mind cannot comprehend God’s vastness.

Sit back, go to that place behind your heart and think of God’s vastness and receive all that you are to receive.

As you see a baby playing or crying, think about how 23 chromosomes from the father and 23 from the mother had to come together to help bring about the creation of that child. How did God do that?

Sit back, go to that place behind your heart and think of God’s greatness and receive.

Wherever you are vacationing, see God in whatever is around you. In the trees…the flowers…the people…etc. See the extraordinary beauty. Then go that special place behind your heart and acknowledge that beauty and receive.

Receive the Grace.

To sign up to receive newsletters and updates from Michael, scroll to the bottom of the Ah-Man Web Site. You’ll find additional information and resources in the latest issue of the Ah-Man Newsletter.

The To-Do List

As part of my theme this month, the importance of taking time to be in the Presence, as desccribed in the June edition of the Ah-Man Newsletter,  I want to share with you the following exercise.

First, I ask you to list all the things that are keeping you from meditating every morning, e.g., work, kids, school, husband, wife, car repair, airport, shopping, headache, email, phone call, meeting, sleep, iron my clothes, breakfast, traffic, etc.

Now ask yourself a question. Will any of those things bring you eternal happiness? Or Absolute Truth? Or inner fulfillment?

Yes, all of those things are important. We each have responsibilities and it’s our duty to meet them. But our first duty is to take care of ourselves…spiritually. When we have done that, everything else will fall in line.

To sign up to receive newsletters and updates from Michael, scroll to the bottom of the Ah-Man Web Site.  You’ll find additional information and resources in the latest issue of the Ah-Man Newsletter.

Start Your Day Off on the Right Foot

I hope you’ve had the chance to review the June edition of the Ah-Man Newsletter, in which I introduce this month’s blog theme: the importance of taking time to be in the Presence.

If I offered you a $1000.00 a day to take 15 minutes in the morning before you start your day to meditate, would you make the time to do it?

Of course you would!  You’d be crazy not to. The point is we have the time (or will make the time) if we think it’s important enough.

The benefit of daily meditation over a period of time is like receiving $1000.00 a day and more.

No matter what your faith is, taking at least 15 minutes (I think over time, you will want to do 30-45 minutes or more) each morning to go within, to that place where only you can go, and be quiet, pray, chant, or just receive, will help you in every way possible: spiritually; physically; emotionally; and yes, even materially…more than money ever could.

Most of us are blessed to have work today. Yes, it’s a blessing! Too many of us are out of work, so regardless if you like your job or not, it’s a blessing to have for today.

Imagine seeing the different people who you work with as “children of God.” Because, believe it or not, even the ones who might be making your workday a hard one are children of God.

What if each time someone did something negative or something happened that threw you off, instead of just reacting, you were able to stop for a moment and ask: what am I supposed to learn from this situation?

There is a lesson to be found in every life situation.  Sometimes it’s to stand up for  ourselves…sometimes it’s to just observe how we are reacting…sometimes it’s to see how things can be done differently. There are so many things we can learn if we use our eyes to see and our ears to hear.

Have you slowed down enough to hear what you need to hear…see what you need to see?

To sign up to receive newsletters and updates from Michael, scroll to the bottom of the Ah-Man Web Site.  You’ll find additional information and resources in the latest issue of the Ah-Man Newsletter.