Awareness has amazing psychological, therapeutic and even physical healing powers. A large number of our issues originate from our minds. By increasing our awareness of our thoughts, we gain invaluable perspective into the root cause of our issues, helping us deal with these issues at a fundamental level.
Advice from Masters: Quotes & Tips on Dissolving Issues through Awareness
Intense presence is needed when certain situations trigger a reaction with a strong emotional charge, such as when your self-image is threatened, a challenge comes into your life that triggers fear, things “go wrong,” or an emotional complex from the past is brought up. In those instances, the tendency is for you to become “unconscious.” The reaction or emotion takes you over — you “become” it. You act it out. You justify, make wrong, attack, defend. . .except that it isn’t you, it’s the reactive pattern, the mind in its habitual survival mode.
“Everything is shown up by being exposed to the light, and whatever is exposed to the light itself becomes light.” Just as you cannot fight the darkness, you cannot fight the pain-body. Trying to do so would create inner conflict and thus further pain. Watching it is enough.
If you are able to stay alert and present at that time and watch whatever you feel within, rather than be taken over by it, it affords an opportunity for the most powerful spiritual practice, and a rapid transmutation of all past pain becomes possible
Eckhart Tolle – Spiritual Teacher, Author – Power of Now / A New Earth / Practicing the Power of Now
Even with negative emotions, do this. When you are angry, do not be centered on the person who has aroused it. Let him be on the periphery. You just become anger. Feel anger in its totality; allow it to happen within.
If you suppress, you will create more disturbance. If the anger is there and an effort to suppress is there, it will double the disturbance. When anger is there, close your doors, meditate on the anger, allow the anger to be. You remain undisturbed, and don’t suppress it.
But it will be difficult because when you become disturbed, you forget everything. You may forget that you have to meditate. Then try it in this way: don’t wait for the moment when anger happens to you. Don’t wait for that moment! Just close the door to your room, and think of some past experience of anger when you went mad. Remember it, and re-enact it. That will be easy for you. Re-enact it again; do it again; relive it. Don’t just remember it: relive it.
Everyone has scars in his mind, unhealed wounds. If you re-enact them, you will be unburdened. If you can go to your past and do something which has remained incomplete, you will be unburdened from your past. Your mind will become fresher; the dust will be thrown away.
In the inner sky an anger cloud moves—watch it. See what it is. Look deep into it. Try to understand it, and you will find there is a chain: The anger cloud disappears, but because you looked deeply into it, something else has been found—maybe ego was hurt, that’s why you become angry. Now watch this ego cloud, which is more subtle. Go on watching it. Get deep into it.
Osho – Spiritual Teacher – Meditation: The 1st & Last Freedom / The Book of Secrets
Top Books on Dissolving Issues Through Awareness
Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World
Authors: J. Mark G. Williams,Danny Penman, Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a universally recommended therapy that is even more effective than drugs. Based on this, the authors of this book give you practical habits you can incorporate into your daily life to battle anxiety, depression and stress. Unlike other books that focus on the problem, this book actually provides a solution to the problem.
Meditations
Authors: Marcus Aurelius,Martin Hammond, Diskin Clay
Meditations is a collection of a Roman philosopher and emperor Marcus Aurelius’ thoughts and reflections on his journey towards self-discovery. In this book, he addresses and resolves the various human challenges that occur in life such as doubt, despair, and the struggle to make sense of one’s emotions. This book is a philosophical masterpiece that has changed the lives of many.
Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation
Authors: Daniel J. Siegel,
Dr. Daniel Siegel introduces you to a profound discovery — you have the power to change how your brain operates. He shows you a way to discover a memory from childhood that is the cause of your crippling anxiety, the power of meditation in coping with bipolar disorder and how you can view your own life in your mind and control your compulsive behavior.
Other concepts on Dealing With Issues
Letting Go
We often place much greater importance to things, than they really deserve. By practicing the art of letting go, we gain a great degree of freedom from thoughts, emotions and things that prevent us from realizing our true selves.
Gratitude
Most people are only grateful when things go their way, and lose out on the powerful positive benefits of gratitude. By being grateful, you shift your energy, which shifts your thinking, actions and ultimately your results. Gratitude is a state of mind, not dependent on your external circumstances.
Journals
The practice of Journaling (writing your thoughts into a diary on a daily basis) has been proven to be of tremendous value in helping you reach your goals, change behavior, clear your mind and deal with a range of negative issues. A simple daily habit, that can truly transform your life.
Health
Too many of us rely solely on doctors and medicines to solve our health issues, ignoring the many real and known problems of modern medicine (including the very real side-effects and a focus on symptoms vs the root cause). While medicines have their place, we should not ignore the tremendous value of alternate therapies – including the power of our minds, the proper diets, home remedies and traditional medications.