I have the gift of a great memory and often cite books I’ve read during my sessions with clients. I cannot explain this strong memory and take no credit for it. But I’m happy to possess it, as it is useful for my clients and also occasionally makes me funny and even impressive at social functions.
Some of those ideas come up often enough in session that I started keeping a running list of the “greatest hits,” so to speak. This is that list. I’ve included some commentary but most of the ideas stand alone.
I expect this list to grow, or perhaps shrink, in time.
Delusion
“Half of him regretted not having acted; the other half condemned his lecherous yearning. It was precisely this conflict of emotions, swirling incessantly in his veins, that constituted what the Buddha called delusion.” — Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa
Have you ever experienced the desire for two things that seem to contradict one another? A desire to lose weight and also eat an entire block of cheese, for instance?
Meditation
“What [Musashi] really wanted was more time to himself for meditation. He needed to develop harmony, to make sure his ideas did not outpace his ability to act.” — Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa
How much of life is spent with one’s mind racing? Or without any good ideas?
The Easiest Thing
“To think bad thoughts is really the easiest thing in the world. If you leave your mind to itself it will spiral down into ever increasing unhappiness. To think good thoughts, however, requires effort. This is one of the things that discipline and training is all about.” — Shogun by James Clavell
Rome
“Men did not love Rome because she was great. She was great because they had loved her.” — Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
If you are reading this, you likely come from a culture that popularizes the notion that only greatness deserves love. You are Rome. Withholding love from oneself until you’ve achieved greatness is not only a miserable way to live but also usually ineffective. A plant will not grow without water and sunlight.
Chastity
“Lord, make me chaste. But not yet.” — Confessions of St. Augustine
Most people have no problem doing away with alcohol, TV, video games, drugs—whatever. But don’t take away that.
All/Self
“All judgment is self-judgment.” “All conflict is self-conflict.” “All validation is self validation.” “All love is self-love.” — Various sources, including Romans 2:1: “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are.”
One way to think about this is at the level of the Oneness. You know, Bob Marley: “One love, one heart. Let’s get together…”
Another is at the level of your organization. When you praise a colleague, you are praising the organization that you are part of.
One more is at the level of the self. When you praise or criticize the world, do you hear it?
Looking Away
“I could see peace instead of this.” — A Course in Miracles
The variation from Nietzsche: “Looking away shall be my only negation.”
Attraction
“[The magician] may attract to himself any force of the Universe by making himself a fit receptacle for it, establishing a connection with it, and arranging conditions so that its nature compels it to flow toward him.” — Aleister Crowley, Magick Without Tears
Rather than chasing a thing you desire, be the thing which attracts the thing.
Small Things
“The sage does not attempt anything very big
And thus achieves greatness.” — Lao Tze, Tao Te Ching
One of the most common reasons for overwhelm seems to be when an individual is dealing with a complex problem and has failed to break it down into manageable steps. “Make money” is more complex than “get a job” which is more complex than “write a resume,” for instance.
On The Law of Attraction
There’s no need to overcomplicate this. When you see pigeons in public, do they hang out with other pigeons? Extrapolate from that.
Relationships
“Relationships are reflections of who we were when they began.” — James Hollis
Ideas
“Where do you get your ideas from?” — Norm Macdonald
This joke is for creative people. If you get it, it means you’re a creative person. If you don’t get it, it means you haven’t discovered your creativity yet. Either way, we should talk.
Babies
“People are babies.” — Dennis Procopio
Probably the most important lesson on human interaction I’ve ever received. When you look at a baby and smile, the baby smiles back. When you frown, it frowns back—or even begins to feel anxiety and cry. “Adults” behave the same way. Try it out.
Spontaneous Synchronization
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T58lGKREubo
In human behavior, spontaneous synchronization is most famously observed in the alignment of menstrual cycles within sororities. If you’ve ever worked in a restaurant, you’ll have observed as well the phenomenon of everyone showing up at once—“the rush.”
As an individual works to make changes in his own life, he often finds that the world comes into alignment with him. For more on this idea, check out the incomprehensible book Stalking the Wild Pendulum, famously cited by a CIA report on parapsychology.
Change
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” — Gandhi
This practice in conjunction with spontaneous synchronization is extraordinarily powerful.
Shadow
“Every great institution is the lengthened shadow of a single man.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Only Reason
“The only reason that you are where you are is because somewhere within you it is ok for you to be there.” — Kapil Gupta