ReThink towards Ethical Paradigma

Posted on by DieterL

Capitalism as we know it – materialistic, amoral, relentlessly exhausting the world’s natural resources and the people who toil under the system – is ultimately unsustainable. For capitalism to have a future, it must change its focus from the single-minded accumulation of material capital, go beyond profit and begin to accumulate “Spiritual Capital” – a sense of wider meaning, the possession of an enliving or inspiring vision, the implementation of fundamental human values, and a deep sense of wider purpose.

With kind regards,

Dieter Langenecker

My Favorites November 2015: Great Stuff I’ve Found Recently

Posted on by DieterL

My monthly “My Favorites” routine includes posting links to great content I ran across, to encourage you to check them out if they sound interesting for helping you to live a meaningful life. Enjoy!

HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN LUCK

LUCK-IN BUSINESS AND IN LIFE-ISN’T ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS TO YOU, IT’S ALSO SOMETHING YOU CAN FIND AND HELP CREATE. Read it here

Letting Go of Wishing Things Were Different

One of the hardest things to let go of is the way we want things to be. We have fantasies of how our lives could be like, what we could be like as people, what other people should be like, what the world should be like. These are fantasies, but we rarely recognize them as such. And so it’s hard to let them go, because we want them so.

(Leo Babauta) Read it here

6 Little Money Mindset Shifts That Pay Off Huge
Just in time before the festive season: Marie Forleo

A Zen Master Explains Death and the Life-Force to a Child and Outlines the Three Essential Principles of Zen Mind Brainpickings

Smile, breathe, and go slowly!

Dieter

The Universe of a Single Task

Posted on by DieterL

In the neverending rush of our day, what does one little task matter?

It is everything.

We speed through each task as if it’s nothing, looking already to the next task, until we collapse at the end of the day, exhausted. Having spent a day cranking through nothings.

That’s one approach, and I’ve done it many times. But here’s another: make each task its own universe, its own specialness. Then every moment of your day is ridiculously important and wonderful and powerful.

Here’s a process for one single task, whatever you have in front of you right now:

Pause and consider. Why are you doing the task? Because it’s on your list, because someone sent it to you? Or because it will make a difference in the world, help make someone’s life better? Is it a compassionate act? Is it part of a project that matters? Know why you’re doing something, and then imbue the task with that intention.
Notice your fear. Sometimes, we resist a task, procrastinate on it. I mean, not you, of course. Most other people procrastinate. This procrastination is rooted in fear, and so the trick is to see the fear, to feel it in your body, to accept it as part of you and not “wrong”. Then to give it compassion, and act anyway, in the moment. Don’t let your mind run away from the task.
Make the task your universe. Have you ever been reading an article (like this one) and had the urge to switch to something else? This urge pushes itself on us, all day, because of the nagging feeling that there’ssomething else we should be doing, something else more important, more fun, that we might be missing out on. Instead, forget about those something elses. Make this one task your everything, and give it the space to fill up your entire mind. Put yourself fully in this one space, and pretend there’s nothing else.
Stay with the task. Even with this task becoming your universe, there will be the urge to run away. This is fear again. Don’t let it rule you. Stick with the task, even just for a couple more minutes. Be curious about it: notice its qualities, wonder how it will go if you stay with it, don’t think you know everything about it. Pay attention, and see what it’s like.
Bow when you’re done. Don’t rush off to the next task, but instead pause. Create a tiny bit of space before you move on to the next thing.Wash your bowl. Check the task off your list. Breathe, and see how your body is feeling. Now consider what task you should do next, not just because it’s in your inbox or task list, but because it matters. (Thank you, Leo Babauta)

With kind regards,

Dieter Langenecker

ReThink

Posted on by DieterL

At the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis outside Vienna, Austria, many years ago, a senior officer from the United Nations closed his presentation by saying, “I’ve dealt with many different problems around the world, and I’ve concluded that there is only one real problem: over the past hundred years, the power that technology has given us has grown beyond anyone’s wildest imagination, but our wisdom has not. If the gap between our power and our wisdom is not redressed soon, I don’t have much hope for our prospects.”

With kind regards,

Dieter Langenecker

A Simple, Powerful Self-Compassion Method

Posted on by DieterL

When we’re frustrated with others, or feeling bad about ourselves … we often turn toward habits that comfort us:

distractions
food
shopping
smoking
drugs/alcohol

These don’t often work, because they tend to make us feel worse in the long run. We become unhappier, more stressed, and then need to seek comfort in these things again … and the cycle continues.

These are sometimes the only ways we know of comforting ourselves! I know this because for a long time I always turned to all of the above for comfort when I was feeling stressed or bad about myself. It made me very unhealthy and it took a long time to change my patterns.

Today I’d like to suggest a method of self-compassion that I’ve been learning, that has worked wonders.

The Self-Compassion Method

Try this now if you’re feeling stressed, frustrated, in pain, disappointed, angry, anxious, worried, or depressed:

Notice. Take a moment to turn inward and notice your pain in this moment. Now notice where it is in your body, and how it feels. Describe the pain to yourself in physical terms, in terms of quality, in terms of color or shape or motion.
Accept. Now tell yourself that it’s OK to have this pain. It’s perfectly OK to feel bad about yourself, to feel bad about your body, to feel frustrated with someone else. Let yourself feel the pain.
Comfort. Now treat this pain with compassion, like you would with a friend who is suffering, or your child who is in pain. Be gentle with it, kind to it, like a suffering child. Comfort it. How would you comfort your friend whose parent just died?
Smile. Finally, try wishing your pain well, wish it happiness. Give it love. Smile at your pain in compassion.

This method takes a lot of practice, for sure. I’m still learning it myself, and I don’t claim to be an expert at self-compassion. But I’ve found it to be truly amazing, because we very rarely do this for ourselves. We’re good at being kind to others when they’re having a difficult time, perhaps, but not always with ourselves.

And it can be transformative. If you practice compassion with your pain, it becomes less of a burden. You realize that it’s temporary, you feel less bad about being frustrated. And you feel loved – by yourself. (Thank you, Leo Babauta)

My Favorites September 2015: Great Stuff I’ve Found Recently

Posted on by DieterL

Why So Many of Us Experience a Midlife Crisis

People often come to see me when they are in their 30s or 40s and say, I have done what was expected of me and had a career doing the right thing, now I want to do something else. Something that makes me feel whole/complete. Something that brings me joy and fulfilment and helps me fulfil a personal quest. But, I’m not sure what my purpose is.

Interesting HBR article. Read it here

5 WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR ENERGY

Beautiful article by Kate James, read it here

Sadhguru: Is Suffering Inevitable?

4 Things Good Listeners Do
One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say. Read this practical article here

How Do You Know You Exist?

A Mind-Bending Animated Homage to Descartes Exploring the Conundrum of Reality. Brainpickings

Smile, breathe, and go slowly!

Dieter

Don’t Waste Your Opportunity

Posted on by DieterL

For most of us, our biggest sin is taking things for granted.

I’m as guilty as anyone else: I wake up and rush into online work or reading, forgetting to appreciate what a miracle this new day is. I’m alive! I’ve been given another amazing day, full of opportunities, and that is truly breath-taking.

I’m human, with a body and a conscious mind … and what an opportunity that is! We take this for granted, but if someone came up to you and said, “Hey, I can give you the power to make 10 people’s lives better every day of your life” and they could prove beyond a doubt they’re telling the truth … would we just pass this opportunity up without thought, and go to our favorite online social network to see what updates we’ve missed? That would be a huge missed opportunity, and that’s exactly what we’re doing each day we pass up the opportunity of being human without thought.

What kind of opportunities does being human bring us?

How about the opportunity to experience the wonders of the world, each moment bringing with it an overwhelming amount of experience that we can soak up?

How about the opportunity to investigate, explore, learn, discover, invent, create, inform, play, imagine, and build?

How about the opportunity to connect deeply with another human?

How about the opportunity to care, to lessen the suffering of others, to not participate in the suffering of animals, to make lives better?

How about the opportunity to practice mindfulness and appreciate all that’s in front of us?

How about the opportunity to create your own opportunities, ones that I can’t imagine?

What does this moment offer you that you are passing by without thought?

Are you willing to make the most of the opportunities of this moment, of being human? (Thank you,Leo Babauta)

Dieter Langenecker Purpose Counseling & LifeMentoring

Category Archives: article

ReThink towards Ethical Paradigma

My Favorites November 2015: Great Stuff I’ve Found Recently

The Universe of a Single Task

ReThink

A Simple, Powerful Self-Compassion Method

My Favorites September 2015: Great Stuff I’ve Found Recently

Don’t Waste Your Opportunity