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Friday, December 28, 2007

A Year In Review: The Daily Grind


We talked about actions yesterday, and took a good look at what was working and what wasn't. Today, we are going to talk about actions, too, but it a different context.

A solid daily routine is truly an important building block to spiritual development. With competing interests tugging at us everywhere we turn, from work to family to domestic responsibilities, its easy to start cutting back in the very areas where we should be beefing up.

Thich Nhat Hanh recommends a period of daily sitting meditation for one hour. One hour! That may be easy for a Zen master who lives in a monastery, but for us laypeople, that can be a tough choice. An hour may seem unreasonable, but once we start prioritizing, it really isn't anything more than 1/24th of our day.

To look at building a solid foundation to your spiritual kingdom, ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I have a routine? Or is not having a routine my routine?

2. How much television do I watch in one day, one week?

3. Do I pray in the morning and at night? How often do I meditate and for how long?

4. Do I give myself alone time at least once a week?

5. Where can I delegate responsibility? Where should I be helping more?

6. What can I do to make my time more manageable?

7. Am I a morning person or a night person?

Take a deep breath, and get yourself into a state of mindfulness. Ask yourself these questions, and honestly evaluate each one. Take a look at where you can change. TV is called the "plug-in drug," and for good reason. Try spending a week without it, and see how much more productive you become. Television should be a reward, not a necessity.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi! I have just started reading your blog and I really, really like it. Please keep it up. I'll be returning frequently!!

Sharon said...

Thanks Marie! I'm trying to build up an audience, and your encouragement makes it worthwhile. Let me know what works and what doesn't; I want exploded view to be a place that we build together...

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