Adam Lobon's blog

Waiting for permission

To be extraordinary we often feel the need to wait for permission.

One published poet once told me the way to make it in poetry is to win a few poetry competitions by checking out the type of poetry that the judges write and imitating it - then you will gradually start to get known.

Basically - sell your soul to the validaters for their acceptance and approval - then you will make it!

Get validation from parents, coaches, teachers, peers, managers.

We get a confidence boost when someone encourages us or tells us that we are capable of achieving.

We win an award and feel that now we are ready to conquer.

Letters after our name and certificates makes us feel as though our life is meaningful.

What is interesting is to check those people who are validating our life what gives them power other than our own need for assurance?

Is it like the Wizard of Oz?

We already have within us the potential to be extraordinary - we just need to actualize it through cultivating compassion not wait for others to valid it based on their criteria...

Stopping the Rant - Two downsides of the Internet

Although the internet is a great and powerful tool there are two main downsides to it:

Bloggeria
Using the net as a tool to vent anger, frustration and fury.  Rambling on about anything without any meaning or benefit to anyone.

Facebook is a good one for this - make a comment raging about the government and then 10 people agree with it and liking it, subsequently feeling justified for the negative comments.

Writing blog posts for the world to see about goss and dross which fail to improve the quality of anybodies life thus wasting your own and others time

Distraction
Its a huge distraction and deceives us into believing that we have power.  It encourages an addiction to information and strengthens the mind of distraction which leads to mental unrest and disquiet.

Stop the rant is the title of this post and is referring to the disquiet in the mind that arises from negativity.
The rant is not really the fault of anything outside of the mind it is simple an expression of confusion.

Ranting is a self confession that things are not right inside - take a look and see.

If you train the mind to become quiet the ranting ceases and peace naturally arises.

finding diamonds

There was an English guy today accused of being involved in the biggest diamond robbery of all time.

Have you ever held a diamond in your hand? He had 40 million pounds worth in his possesion...

There are miners in South Africa who spend their days sifting through dirty soil looking for a glimmer which supposedly will change there life for ever.

Would a diamond change your life? What if you discovered your mind was like a diamond?

What do you do for a living?

Meditate...

A RUNNING COMMENTARY

For viewers one of the most irritating aspects of watching a sporting event is the running commentary.  Often biased and highly critical.

In the same way our mind provides us with a continuous commentary to the events, circumstances and scenarios in our existence - what is taking place in our world and what is taking place within.

Often a critique  - we can become our worst enemy or greatest ally depending upon the commentary.

The commentary often feels dependent on others - the way they treat and behave towards us.

When your watching a sporting event and turn the sound down its a totally different experience.

Imagine going through life with the background gossip and commentary turned down and channeled onto positive qualities.

When we see someone - judgment takes place in an instant. 

The commentary kicks in - “ah I like this one”, or “oh, mmm look at that, look at the way they do that” - its continuous and leads to a limited view of the world where we trap people (including our self) into our projections.

Thinking outside compartments

Our thoughts create our world.


Discover what happens to your world as your thoughts change.

'Thinking outside the box' has been so overused now by marketeers it has lost its meaning - however the message that it actually conveys is profound.

Our habits & trains of thought are cultivated over time - the formal education process which we are subjected to encourages a conceptualization and continuous mental critique - naturally leading to a materialistic prioritization.

Become a mental scientist and discover how change can be create by adjusting the tune of the mind.

Inner Wealth & the Budget

Today we see the new Budget.

Its a good opportunity to take a look at wealth and what it is.

There is a considerable amount of concern about money in our modern, materialistic society.

I remember a friend at primary school telling me he wanted to be a policeman because they have a good pension - he was eight, I was shocked!

Inner wealth is more important than external wealth - why?

The quality of our internal wealth influences our experience of happiness.

You can see this clearly if you take a visit to a developing country and see individuals who have very little but have an unusual quality of happiness - where does that come from?

The way we are educated, our values, our role models lead us to being interested in the acquisition of possessions both material - cars, houses, partners etc and non physical - our reputation, ideas, job development.

Its simple to see that an experience of well being and happiness arises from within - not the development of our external world.

This is straightforward to understand but for some reason complex to integrate into our life.

Often people who come to my workshops blame society for their stress and interest in acquisition. I would say it is to simple to fob off society with the blame - we need to take a look within the mind.

Meditation simplifies our existence - it aides us in the discovery of the internal wealth of happiness and well being.

Politicians have "power" because we give it to them - not really through the voting system but through our dependency on material development.

Seize the Day - Make your Lives Extraordinary (with Video Clip from Dead Poets Society))

The greatest clip from any film ever made!

Robin showing the boys the truth of their mortality - 

Gather ye rose buds while ye may - 

If not now then when?

The power of this scene is the introduction of death - "these boys are now fertilizing daffodils"

In every workshop that I have ever given regarding death this scene has been mentioned.

It shows how contemplating our own impermanence has tremendous effects on our motivation to do good.

To shake our self out of complacency - to bring confidence, drive and a fierce certainty kicking doubt and misery into touch.

Enjoy life and use it for its highest possible attainment before its over... 

How Meditation Leads to Positive Proaction

Sometimes it can appear that meditation doesn't have any positive outcomes other than benefitting temporarily the individual - this point can be addressed on different levels.  

Today I will reveal how if engaged in correctly can lead to great results. Another way of looking at it is to check how we look at our world and believe it to exist, this is much a deeper point and is beyond the scope of this post.

If we engage in a focused and concentrated meditation where we are mindful of the breath and the comings and goings of the mind then we naturally discover and develop an inner peace within...this creates mind space and clarity, also a sense of perspective. 

With this perspective we can think in a more creative manner.

For example we can take any situation that we have in our life and try to see it in a positive light - try to focus on the kindness of others as oppose to their faults - this creative way of thinking then leads to a positive perspective in our mind.

When our mind is positive then naturally our attention moves out and away from our self and leads us to a proactive approach which will then have a beneficial effect on the world around us.

From these six highlighted points above you can see how a simple meditation practice can improve the world in which we live and benefit many people in our life...

Triumph in Adversity - NIck Vuljicic

Here is Nick. 

Born without arms or legs - he spends his life inspiring and helping others through his example and teaching....

He has accepted his situation and has used it to benefit others.

This is the key to overcoming problems.

Having a motivation that wants to help  others - yep looking out to help others. 

A positive mind is a powerful tool for conquering negativity. 

Its easy to look at your own difficulties and sink with them. 

If we have any problem of course there is someone in the world who suffers in a greater way.

Any kind of problem can be transformed with the right mental tools - Nick shows here that he can keep a happy, positive mind and transcend negativity. 

What have you got to be miserable about is the question? 

Meditation practice provides us with a powerful tool to strengthen our mind - some people turn to religion for inspiration...

What we really need though is not the crutch of an outside force but the confidence and ability to change and alter our mind.