The following story is taken from my book, The New Season: Journey Toward Enlightenment. I have presented it here in order to demonstrate the symbolism of some of the most profound ancient teachings to be found. More importantly, I hope to provide examples of how to incorporate this wisdom into one’s daily life. I hope you enjoy it:
Zen Professor
A Path to a More Fulfilling Life
Tag: Confucius
Life often gives us examples of how we are connected to everything. I once read a story about a man who could “tap” another person and cause them to turn around, even though twenty feet or more separated them! Is this even possible? In the story it was stated that, out of forty people who passed by, only four failed to turn around when this man mentally “tapped” them. That is remarkable! (From The Lost Season by Jeffry Beers)
“Part of life’s beauty is that we are all connected, so that beauty is in me as well”
“Even when walking in the company of two other men, I am bound to be able to learn from them. The good points of the one I copy; the bad points of the other I correct in myself.”
Confucius
Based on this quote by Confucius, I decided that when I observed what appeared to be a weakness in others I would look to find it in myself. Once I started this practice, it never seemed to take long before I found it. For example, one night I felt uncomfortable around my former girlfriend’s family because of fear of being judged.
Later, upon reflecting on the evening, I could see that in no way did they act judgmentally toward my daughter or me. Indeed, it was clear to me that I was the one doing the judging, if in no other way than judging them as those who would judge.
Judgement in action
Once, as I was biking home from campus, I heard a car alarm going off. Normally I become a little annoyed at such a disturbance, but this time I simply observed it. As I approached the car I noticed three men, who appeared to be in their twenty’s, and were obviously quite annoyed by this particular event.
I heard one of them say, in a rather agitated voice, “All you have to do is put the key in the ignition and turn!”
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In this book series I have described a path to total self-awareness. For me, it all started with reading inspirational literature, contemplative walking, introspective reflecting and journaling. In the first book of the series, Peace: The Art of Mindfulness to Eliminate Stress, I wrote about mindfulness and how we can program the mind to change our default progressively from constant mind chatter, to less inner dialog, to mindful chatter, to mostly silent with intentionally directed internal dialog.
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