HABITUAL BEHAVIOR

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein

HABITS

Habits are routines of behavior that are repeated regularly (repetition), tend to occur subconsciously, without directly thinking consciously about them. Habitual behavior sometimes goes unnoticed in persons exhibiting them, because it is often unnecessary to engage in self-analysis when undertaking in routine tasks. Habituation is an extremely simple form of learning, in which an organism, after a period of exposure to a stimulus, stops responding to that stimulus in varied manners. Habits are sometimes compulsory.

We behave, in the main, due to our habits, which are a result of repeated patterns of thinking.

In other words, our repeated patterns of thinking express themselves as our habitual patterns of behavior and experience.

Our holistic habits will express themselves in each area of our life and we know that each major area of human life is represented by the 7 centers (the seven chakra system). So we need to study the system of the seven centers and then make changes to our attitudes and relationships to these seven centers.

Our brain (represented by the brow center - chakra 6) is the command center that influences the behavior of the 5 other centers below it (chakras 1 - 5).

"As we think, so our holistic behavior becomes."

Many of our habits are due to the mental conditioning process of our early life - or any other formative and influential times in our life (mentorship, relationships, etc..)

WHO'S IN CHARGE? US OR OUR HABITS?

Forming habits which become ingrained will yield results. I've hesitated to say the results you really want because it depends on what you're doing. Are your habits keeping you stuck or are they moving you forwards? If one of your habits is spending too much time planning and not enough time doing, then you're not likely to achieve your desired results.

To break unproductive habits but to add habits which will move you forward is one of the goals of coaching. These daily habits can be fairly small but will gradually amount to something much bigger.

Changing habits can be difficult and as your local Doctor will tell you it is best to "taper off" the habit by a process of reducing the frequency and amount of indulgence in the habit.

Keep it small to start with and as your feeling of success increases, you can add to it. Your success lies with the actions you take each day.

The reality of changing our habits is explained well in the following story.

"A violent and angry man goes to see a Nun because he is fed up with his mind. She gives him a bowl and two bags. In one bag are black beads and in the other bag are white beads. She tells him to put a white bead in his bowl every time he thinks a healthy and positive thought or performs a good and wholesome act, and to put a black bead in the bowl every time he thinks unhealthy and negative thoughts or performs negative actions.

The man went away with his beads and bowl. To begin with, at the end of each day his bowl was overflowing with black beads and he was not happy.

'Look at all these black beads,' he sighed, 'I will try to do a little better tomorrow.'

Eventually, white beads began to show up in his bowl at the end of each day. He realized that he was getting a little better and that changing habits is possible and we need to be gentle, patient, kind and good to ourselves."

Remember to count your white beads as well as your black ones! We need to be patient with ourselves and others.

Changing habits takes time and it is better to proceed with a steady and gradual change than an extreme method of fits and starts. Extremities rarely work and can be more harm than good.

Steady and gradual changes always work and are easier to implement.

ESSENTIAL STUDY

Purification and The Seven Centers

HABITUAL BEHAVIOR

HABITS

WHO'S IN CHARGE? US OR OUR HABITS?

ESSENTIAL STUDY

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