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Interesting article
There are five spiritual powers that provide for a happiness that transcends any external success. These five allow you to be happy in the present with an inner strength. The Powers are: The Power of Faith, the Power of Diligence, The Power of Mindfulness, The Power of Concentration, and the Power of Insight. These are based on material
from the Buddhist monk and author Thich Nhat Hanh's The Art of Power.
The Power of Faith
This is about internal trust and confidence and is not related to outside factors. This strength within gives you a base of power. While it is not always easy to feel an inner confidence, think of the calm when you attain this. Each of the following four powers helps you on a path to that end.
The Power of Diligence
Practice meditating, mindful walking, and/or mindful breathing every day.
• Do not let negative thoughts in, only positive ones
If you live in a negative environment, that environment will trigger negative thoughts. Choose to be around positive people and places.
• Calm and change any negative emotions that do arise. Do not ignore them. Simply recognize them, then replace them with something uplifting.
• Encourage positive emotions within. Take some action such as reading or making a statement, something that nurtures good thoughts.
• Continue to keep positive emotions nourished; this is a daily task, not a one-time event.
The Power of Mindfulness
• Being aware of what is happening in the present moment.
• Having the capacity to recognize things as they are, not as we wish they were.
• Walking and eating with mindfulness.
There are simple, yet profound activities, and they are ones that can be incorporated into your daily routine with little effort. They do require, however, some practice.
The Power of Concentration
• Impermanence - Know that everything is constantly changing. Tomorrow may be too late to express thoughts or care for a loved one.
• Non-self - The reality is that we do not have a separate self, so when we suffer, all suffer.
• Interbeing - The interconnectedness of life means that any suffering we cause will also affect us.
The Power of Insight
The first four powers lead to this fifth Power of Insight. With command of the first four, we can gain the insight needed to have that peace within, that happiness with our lives that we so desire. Remember, this happiness is not an external measurement of success. This happiness is a peace within. Wouldn't you like to have that feeling each and every day?
• Impermanence - We must learn to value each and every moment, since each will pass quickly. One side of this is, of course, that we may quickly lose that which we most treasure. The positive side of this impermanence, however, is that if we have this insight, we can transform any negativity.
• Nondiscrimination - We are all brothers and sisters. If we accept this concept and begin to redirect our fears and feeling of being separate, imagine how we might impact the ignorance surrounding conflicts in our lives and in the world.
from the Buddhist monk and author Thich Nhat Hanh's The Art of Power.
The Power of Faith
This is about internal trust and confidence and is not related to outside factors. This strength within gives you a base of power. While it is not always easy to feel an inner confidence, think of the calm when you attain this. Each of the following four powers helps you on a path to that end.
The Power of Diligence
Practice meditating, mindful walking, and/or mindful breathing every day.
• Do not let negative thoughts in, only positive ones
If you live in a negative environment, that environment will trigger negative thoughts. Choose to be around positive people and places.
• Calm and change any negative emotions that do arise. Do not ignore them. Simply recognize them, then replace them with something uplifting.
• Encourage positive emotions within. Take some action such as reading or making a statement, something that nurtures good thoughts.
• Continue to keep positive emotions nourished; this is a daily task, not a one-time event.
The Power of Mindfulness
• Being aware of what is happening in the present moment.
• Having the capacity to recognize things as they are, not as we wish they were.
• Walking and eating with mindfulness.
There are simple, yet profound activities, and they are ones that can be incorporated into your daily routine with little effort. They do require, however, some practice.
The Power of Concentration
• Impermanence - Know that everything is constantly changing. Tomorrow may be too late to express thoughts or care for a loved one.
• Non-self - The reality is that we do not have a separate self, so when we suffer, all suffer.
• Interbeing - The interconnectedness of life means that any suffering we cause will also affect us.
The Power of Insight
The first four powers lead to this fifth Power of Insight. With command of the first four, we can gain the insight needed to have that peace within, that happiness with our lives that we so desire. Remember, this happiness is not an external measurement of success. This happiness is a peace within. Wouldn't you like to have that feeling each and every day?
• Impermanence - We must learn to value each and every moment, since each will pass quickly. One side of this is, of course, that we may quickly lose that which we most treasure. The positive side of this impermanence, however, is that if we have this insight, we can transform any negativity.
• Nondiscrimination - We are all brothers and sisters. If we accept this concept and begin to redirect our fears and feeling of being separate, imagine how we might impact the ignorance surrounding conflicts in our lives and in the world.
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Comments
The Power of Faith is referring to the faith of one's supreme nature either through lecture from dharma masters, sutra, exegesis so forth.
The next three will lead to the final frution or attainment of The Power of Insight.