Dear Friends and Family,

 

If we look closely, we will see that the habits of an average person will rule that person's day-to-day actions.

 

The average person will go through their life making repeated intentions to change their negative/bad habits but within a short time they are back in the saddle, so to speak, and letting their bad habits run their lives. More often than not, those people find themselves not doing what they wished to do, but doing what they are accustomed to doing.

 

So how do we change those habits that have outlived their usefulness or are just harmful to our growth?

 

I'm not a psychotherapist, but I think we can all agree that habits are a fixed way of thinking, willing or feeling that has been acquired through a repetition of thinking or acting.

 

Habits make the performance of certain things easier. Good habits will help make the performance of difficult things easier. Bad habits, no matter how "good" the intentions, are destructive and disturbing to you, yourself and the universe. Bad habits are painful... now and in the future.

 

Very seldom does a person understand that our health, success and outlook on life depend entirely on the battle between our good and bad habits. It is in all the Scriptures and we can see it play out in our everyday life.

 

It's really very simple. Bad habits bring about more bad habits. They are contagious.

 

Don't think you can get away with just one little bad habit because, small though it may be, it will eat away at the integrity of--and commitment to--everything in your life. It won't happen all at once; it never does. But someday you'll wake up and wonder: How did I ever get to this place?

 

So how does one overcome bad habits? By starving them out! Don't give them a chance to grow. Don't rationalize them; don't give them power; don't let them make you think that you are better than others, etc.

 

You have to replace them with something and, in the beginning that "something" might just be a prayer, but you can't let those bad habits go without replacing them or you'll certainly be back in the saddle again with the same old bad habits holding the reins.

 

The most important thing to know is that you can't "white knuckle" them. If you do, it's just a matter of time before you cave back in to the same old bad habits.

 

Discrimination is an important element here, i.e., knowing right from wrong...not letting our senses lead our actions. Admittedly, in the beginning (and even later on) bad habits do give you some pleasure. But as time goes on, the pleasure is a little less, then even a little less, until you're chasing something that you can't catch and you find that you are doing it strictly out of habit. Worse yet, you may not even be aware anymore of the consequences you are experiencing because of the bad habit and you just become hopelessly adrift in a sea of negativity.

 

In most instances bad habits seem harmless and you do derive some pleasure from it. Otherwise, you most likely wouldn't have done it.

 

So how do we stop repeating bad habits? I said it before: discrimination. Now that might sound like a politically incorrect word. But this is not about being politically correct; it's about integrity, honesty, peace and real Love.

 

We all hear the phrase "Peer Pressure." And that's exactly what's happening in society today. If we think differently because of our beliefs or if we don't agree with others, we are looked down upon.

 

How we can begin to be discriminating is by our spiritual practice, i.e., following the natural and spiritual laws. Not just the ones we like but the hard ones as well. Don't water down the teachings that have brought about real Love and Peace throughout time.

 

When we regularly find the time to meditate, pray and read the Scriptures of the saintly ones we will develop real peace, harmony and joy.

 

I'm not talking about us becoming saints or monks. I'm talking about us living the life we are meant to live...being human...acting intelligently from a place of Love and Peace. Not solely from our senses where we find only temporary pleasure, but a place of lasting pleasure; the pleasure of lasting Peace and real Love. This is the goal of human life. We are meant to enjoy ourselves, we are not meant to be slaves to our sensual demands. We are supposed to have our feelings, but not let our feelings have us.

 

Over the next four weeks in my blog posts, I will write about bad habits, what some of them look like, the good actions/habits that can replace them, and I will relate those blogs to the spiritual laws I have been writing about. I hope you will join me for the discussion.

 

With respect and love,

Michael