Adam Lobon's blog

What Can We Learn From Star Wars? - on its special day....

May The Fourth be With You - Celebrating Star Wars Day!

Star Wars has touched billions and still continues to inspire and enlighten.

The battle against evil in the galaxy and the inspiration that we as humans can develop special powers beyond the ordinary, resonates with everyone.

I have always been intrigued by the Jedi’s and their mind training to improve themselves and bring peace to the planet.

They talk of the ‘force’ and using it wisely  -

Many people these days use the word “energy, energy “ almost so much that is has derived it of any real meaning.

Or using ‘a secret’ to find oneself being promoted at work, having more people being attracted to you or even finding that illusive parking space!  The Law of Attraction being manipulated for ones own pursuits.

The force that the Jedi speak of is goes far deeper than that - it is a power that we have within us to do good in order to change the world around us for the benefit of humanity...it is far reaching.

The great thing about the Jedi is their concern for the ‘galaxy’ first and foremost before themselves.

The Jedi’s within Star Wars brought together the best bits of Buddhism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism and the medieval knights.

Understanding that we have the power and potential to radically transform our mind can bring about great inspiration for change and most importantly the wish to bring it about.

Many people say that they have no time for meditation - this lack of time is simply not engaging with our potential for transformation, if we do this then we have the inspiration which will bring the time to meditate.

Meditation practice gives us the peace, power and freedom to transform our mind and increase our intention to be of benefit to the world.

The growth of critical thinking in our education and cynicism in our world along with  the trend for hard thinking atheism has led a direction away from the magic and wonder that our mind is capable of through training.

As Yoda stated:

"You must unlearn what you have learned."

We can hold our formal education as so important and devote so much time and money to it but where has it led us spiritually? 

To fulfilling our potential?

As humans what is our potential? 

What are we capable of spiritually?

If we put our mind in a spiritual direction focused on mental development - extraordinary accomplishments are possible.

Mind Space - Bringing Meditation to New Frontiers

Try this 15 minute guided meditation

OK so here is the first tip for busting the stress in your mind

A guided meditation for you....

If you want to know how to prepare for meditation then click here to read twenty points to help your prepare for meditation

The guided meditation itself takes 15 minutes.
 
When you are ready settle in a comfortable position and click the play button below...you may need to wait around 30 or so seconds depending on your bandwidth for the full track to download - if you enjoy forward to your friends and family

The Middle Way View...

In the last post I introduced the debate that I took part in yesterday on the Sikh Channel TV.

As mentioned my conclusion from the show was that we need to follow the middle way - the path between the two extremes.  Not too tight and not too loose.  Like the musician tuning their instrument - if the strings are too tight then the string snaps if they are too loose then there is no sound.

The debate and show was around alternative health and the objective was to introduce the idea of alternative health into peoples lives.

Someone close to me is currently deciding which treatment to take for prostrate cancer. The conventional or the alternative.  The doctors in the NHS hospital only see one option.  Those in the alternative clinics strongly advise to avoid any invasive treatment.

It is therefore refreshing to meet a practitioner who is open to both paths and is not so strongly attached to their view that they can't see outside it.  I have met such a Doctor in a hospital in the West Midlands.  I will be visiting that hospital to deliver meditation classes for his patients. 

I believe you can combine the two treatments.  What is most important is the mental perspective.

For example the NHS have recently cut a huge amount of funding for Homeopathic treatment - they have found no hard evidence that it works!  However people are cured through visiting Homeopathic doctors. Largely (and the Homeopaths will agree) through the placebo effect.  Mind over matter.

The placebo effect is very powerful. Why?  Our mind is very powerful and can empower us to heal if we believe in the treatment that we are taking.  If there is no belief that it works, what's the point in taking it?

One of the benefits of meditation practice is that it gives us great confidence in the power of the mind to heal the body - not necessary to the extreme so we neglect any type of medication. But in conjunction with taking medication.

A student who attending my meditation class from Switzerland for around a year was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  She decided strongly that she was not going to have it.  She didn't buy into the cancer drama - she maintained a huge positive outlook - the cancer disappeared.  No medication - just simply through the power of her mind.

The most hardened skeptic upon hearing the story directly from her...would be convinced.

I don't conclude however from this story that this is the only way. It is one approach and it worked for Anna at that time in her life. The recovery process depends upon many factors - meditation practice placed gently at the heart of it, however can only help.

At my Great Grandfather funeral around 15 years ago I remember talking to the vicar who I was sitting next to in the wake. 

I told him: "the problem I have with Christianity is that I am irritated by Christians who tell me that it is the only way". I then asked him: "is it the only way?"
He responded: "no I believe in Christ - but I don't believe it is the only way, it works for me."

He gave a warm, happy smile and carried on eating.  It was like a breath of fresh air.

This approach needs to be taken in the Health Service, including the alternative to give patients the space and opportunity to heal.  Rather than being preached at and having treatment enforced the patient is given options and most important the belief, vision and encouragement they can recover.

They are not just a service user - they are a human being with great potential.

KILL YOUR LAPTOP

Back in the 90's there was a local band called Neds Atomic Dustbin who released a song called "Kill Your Television".  I want to change the song to "Kill your laptop".  Then once you have done that go for your phone, especially if its an iPhone.
 
One friend of mine once flushed his phone down the toilet! One of my phones committed suicide by jumping into a washing up bowl, there was a euphoria that swept through my system as I saw it jumping out of my breast pocket into the bowl.

Why such drastic measures?  Mentally kill it - recognizing it has no power, no meaning and finally no benefit. They don't really do anything and they can't create change!

Why?  Only you can create change with power of your intention.  It is your intention that creates change - not the internet, your website, facebook, twitter, whatever.

As the net becomes more elaborate and the systems to access more complex we fascinate - missing the point and moving further and further away from the real source of change...our mind - our intention.  

The Elevator Mind

Are you going up or down?

There is a new job vacancy at the House of Parliament - lift operator: £17,000 PA with a pension plan....

I was in an elevator today at the fantastic Maple House  conference centre and before we knew it we had reached one of the lower ground floors. Not the floor we wanted to be on.  We ended up there because we hadn't been paying attention.

In Part 1 of the Increasing Confidence, Reducing Depression series we look at the way to stop the trigger of depression firing into the mind - through practicing mindfulness, being attentive to the play of the mind and watching out for negativity...

Easier said than done - sometimes the negativity slips through the customs check of our mind and can start to take over our thoughts. 

So at this time we need to be on the look out for ways to stop negative thinking getting out of hand - even if we are being influenced by negativity we don't have to be taken in by it.

When we see the lift of our mind going down we can try this....

Sometimes when we hear a noise we don't really connect with it...
Or somebody is speaking to us but we are not interested so we don't listen- we can hear something but it just isn't registering.  We can do the same with the negativity in our own mind.

To be able to do this then at first we must be able to distinguish the difference between our reaction and the circumstance - this is where meditation practice helps as this gives us some perspective. This helps us to start to look within the mind and see the way it which it reacts and responds. 

Depression arises from a cycle of negative thinking - a lethargic mind.  Keeping the mind sharp and active is important, meditation provides a workout for the mind.

So even though there is some negative influence in our mind we don't have to believe it or be taken in by it - if at this time we can start to engage in a meditation practice then it is possible for us to learn how to redirect our mind.  It is almost like our mind drops and we learn to lift it back up  - and then again.  

For example thinking that we are a failure/loser - we can stop this thought and focus on what we have accomplished - what we can accomplish and what we will accomplish.  We turn our mind.

Meditation practice empowers us to strengthen our resolve to turn our mind around....

With training we can see our thoughts going down and like in an elevator press a button and go back up...

Increase Confidence, Reducing Depression - Part 1: Stopping the Trigger

In this series we are investigating each day how to reduce depression, through increasing confidence and learning to meditate.

Today we will be looking at the triggers of depression, but most importantly how to try and stop this crippling emotion in its tracks.

We all know what makes us unhappy - it seems environmental conditions are largely responsible for a dip in the mood. When a relationship ends, when we loose a job, or supposedly fail at something, we fall ill, or things happen that we don't expect or disappoint us. 

As well as our circumstances changing it is also important to notice how our critically important our responses are to the tides of change.  When are responses become negative then this is when our mood dips - if our reactions are continuously negative then this begins the spiral process. 

This is where meditation comes into play.  If we learn or know how to meditate, then we can develop the ability to watch the mind and see negativity in its early stages.  We can start to see the difference between our outer and inner worlds. 

The way in which our outer world affects our mood depends on how we choose to respond to it - this depends upon our inner world and the responses that we are used to.

The well known practice of mindfulness is fundamental here - keeping an eye on the play of the mind, being attentive to the responses that we have. To achieve success, we need to distance our self from the thought process - we need to create some objectivity within.

This objectivity allows us to see the triggers of negativity threatening and helps us to move our mind in a more positive direction before the trigger is pulled and depression is fired.

Cadburys, Meditation & Marketing

Today we have heard the inevitable takeover of Cadburys by the huge US giant Kraft - sparking off jokes about the fusion of chocolate & cheese!

So sitting a few miles from where the Cadburys seeds were first sown, I take this opportunity to look at the early years of Cadburys. How this enterprise initially grew from humble beginnings into a global phenomena worth 11 billion dollars and we can learn both spiritually and materially from John Cadbury's vision.....

John Cadbury began his small stall in Birmingham in 1824 not as a confectionery shop but selling tea and coffee and drinking chocolate.  He was experimental with his designs leading to the innovative recipes and styles of chocolate that we enjoy today.  He made it less addictive thereby more popular and accepted and used a skillful marketing campaign to get the word out. For example the famous Bournville chocolate, he used the French word 'ville' to bring a Swiss/French slant to his brand making it more appealing and luxurious. His hard work and innovation paid off in 1854 when he received a Royal Warrant as manufacturers of chocolate for Queen Victoria.

He had a strong philanthropic drive which was one of the reasons he was so successful as an entrepreneur.
He was aware of the destructive dangers of alcohol so he created hot drinks as an alternative.  As a pacifist and a non conformist he strongly believed in social reform and was greatly influential in stopping the use of chimney sweeps.  He also set up 'Animal Rights' which would later inspire the RSPCA

He passed his business to his sons who worked for long hours with little reward with just sheer determination and perseverance kept them going.  However using new recipes and experimentation created innovative new products that ensured their success.

George Cadbury inherited the same kindness and looked after his workers health, education, training and pensions. Creating a strong, healthy and committed workforce, these actions were far ahead of his time - he treated his workers as part of a family and gave them recognition when it was due.

Jumping ahead to the modern day, we can hope that this takeover will highlight the great work that was accomplished in the early days at Cadburys.

From a business and marketing point of view we can draw great inspiration and see that two of the most important qualities for success is innovation & kindness.  Interestingly these two qualities both require space and time - which we seem to have less and less of. The 'no time', 'no space' culture.

If you have got this far in the article - congratulations you made the time to stop!

Meditation practice gives us time and space each day to reflect - this aids us in becoming kinder, we have more space in our heart and actually more time to give others.  When the mind is still and peaceful then naturally it is more creative and open to new possibilities.

The world of spam - blanket advertising - just hoping for the best by marketing to everyone and meeting no one is a lazy approach which requires no space - just pushing.  Its unattractive and doesn't work.  Meditation practice helps to sharpen, focus and redefine our mind moment by moment so we realize the next moment can be an opening, a possibility, a space for change.

On this historic day marking the takeover of Cadburys it is good to reflect on the good work that was accomplished and how we can move forward....

Outer and Inner Worlds - Part 1

We have both an outer and inner world.  Its very easy to be caught up in the outer world - the physical world that we live, work, eat and play in - so much so that we can forget about our inner world.  The world that we experience exclusively when we are asleep. 

As we know elements of our day effect our sleep - circumstances, visions and emotions filter into our dreams.  If we can tap into and appreciate our internal world then we can start to affect change in our outer world.

Meditation and positive reflection is a way of discovering and understanding our inner world - the change that we can make in meditation will then influence our outer world.  For example if we pacify our mind in meditation at the beginning of the day then we take that experience into our life, influencing our waking world. The world that we experience is seen through the filter of our mind.  This is where our outer and inner worlds meet.  Meditation helps us to make changes within and then assists us seeing the relationship between our outer and inner worlds.

Without retreating or running away from our life regular Meditation practice can liberate us from the stresses that come from an exclusive preoccupation with the outer world.