Habits are series of attitudes, behaviour or movements that are repeated over and over
until they escape our awareness or control and become as such: habits. We can choose
to develop a habit consciously by applying some discipline and awareness until it
becomes second nature.
- On the physical plane, it could be, for example, by cleanliness or by controlled movement (by opposition to uncontrolled movement such as nail biting or other tic)
- On the mental plane, it could be a positive outlook (by opposition to always criticizing or finding something wrong with everything).
- On the emotional plane, it could be by nurturing a feeling of contentment, finding the silver lining to every situation (by opposition to feeling upset with the least little thing).
When one is regularly discontent, one’s body becomes more acidic which affects one’s
health. It is said that in a balanced PH level, no illness can develop. Although nutrition
has a large influence, so does our attitude.
I particularly like the following text by Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov which I found on the
Prosveta USA website under “Thoughts”. This text was a Daily Meditation from Feb. 2,
2007:
“During the course of the day, you see nothing wrong in expressing discontent or
irritation for any number of reasons, some more valid than others. Don’t you realize that
with all these negative states your life ebbs away and you enter a current of death? Yes,
the first stage of death is discontent, for if you do not take precautions discontent
becomes sorrow, and sorrow turns to suffering. This suffering, which at first touches only
the psychic plane, eventually reaches the physical plane. One day it becomes illness, and
illness gradually leads to death. There are obviously many stages between discontent
and death, but in time one leads inevitably to the other. Contentment, on the other hand,
puts you in the current of life. Those who are content are full of gratitude towards heaven
and live in peace. This peace gives them strength, strength brings them fulfilment, and
they begin to taste eternal life.”
Developing new habits is entirely possible by keeping watch over ourselves i.e. our
thinking, feelings or movements and replacing unwanted habits with new ones. Whatever
level we begin with, it will eventually transfer to the other levels. For example, when we
wake up we can begin our day with a spirit of gratitude by first saying “thank you”. ie:
“Thank you for being alive today; thank you for this marvelous day that is about to begin;
thank you for all I have in my life; thank you Lord for showing me how to serve you
better.”
Here is an exercise which might help measure you level of contentment and happiness:
Imagine you a have a device within called a “moodometer” with a reading from 0 to 100: 0 indicates a real bad mood and 100 a divine feeling, bliss! Now there is a pointer that
indicates your state at any given moment. The idea is to practice keeping your
“moodometer” as high as possible and when it fall below the 50 marks (or whatever mark
you set yourself to), try to identify the reason and get moving up again without counting
on others, just working on your own self. This is a wonderful way to observe yourself, to
catch yourself before ruining the rest of the day and to measure yourself regularly. After
all, the “Kingdom of God” is not a location but a state of being. So, if we wish to live in
paradise, we can begin by developing an attitude of contentment, a feeling of gratitude
several times a day!
I would like to conclude with the following excerpt also taken from Prosveta USA’s
website references:
“… When you say the words ‘thank you’, it is like a source of light, peace and joy
springing from your soul. And this source floods all your cells. Gradually you feel
something inside coming to life, getting stronger. ‘Thank you’ – they are the simplest
words, but they relax all tensions. Repeat them several times, feeling their meaning deep
inside. From the moment you instil within you a feeling of gratitude and look after it to
enable it to grow, it becomes more than just passive. The feeling possesses specific
vibrations, and through the law of affinity it attracts corresponding thoughts and
sensations. This simple expression of gratitude will bring you every blessing. ‘Thank you,
Lord’, ‘thank you, God’… Eventually these words should spring naturally from you
without your having to use your will. When you thank the Creator, you are moving out of
the tight circle of your personal, limited self and into the peace of cosmic
consciousness… When you return, you will sense in yourself new, very precious
elements." Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov
This Feb. issue was written by Carmen
Coordinator of The Aquarian Team