The Right Way

After noticing the pain in my wrists (which may or may not be caused by yoga), I convinced myself that the pain was caused by my high levels of stress and low energy. After a few days of no pain and meditation, I went bowling on Saturday and the pain came back. This just proved that my theory was most likely incorrect and the pain is probably caused by some physical issue. I will need to take care of my wrists more, but this is not a health and fitness blog so enough about that topic.

The positive thing about the pain is that it provided me the opportunity to take a step back and look at my life. I noticed that my life was filled with tons of activities, but I also had high stress and low energy. A month ago I meditated more often and read books on spirituality. Now I chose to watch sitcom re-runs and surf the web to search for one more hilarious picture of a cat. When did I diverge my focus from spirituality? I am no longer improving my life, but instead entertaining my time away.

The interesting part is that my focus was not only gone from my spiritual journey but also from work and extra curricular activities. Luckily, I noticed this important turn of events and will remedy the situation. The first thought I must ponder is "What is the difference between watching TV and reading a book on spirituality?"

The big picture answer is there is no difference. My life will most likely not be affected by such a small decision. So how do I make the right choice between watching TV and reading a book?

The right choice is individual specific and based on the current circumstances. The first step in this process is to acknowledge there is a choice. The conscious mind can then logically assess the situation and the unconscious mind can provide further insight. As a guideline to do the right thing, I use The Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. If the outcome of the decision follows the Eightfold Path than it assures that the right decision is made.

If I go home from work and my conscious mind decides I should read or blog but my unconscious mind wants to watch TV, then I will use the super conscious mind as a hammer to enforce the right decision. If it turns out that my energy level is too low or I'm too wound up to focus on a book and instead should have watched TV, my conscious and unconscious mind will use this new found experience the next time I make a similar decision.

This method has one great benefit. Once I start making the right decisions in my daily choices, such as going to the gym, meditating, or reading, then I will more likely continue to make right decisions in m y life. A similar outcome happens for wrong choices being made because a wrong choice will perpetuate more wrong choices.