Socratic Life

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.” ~ Buddha

What we are today comes from or thoughts of yesterday,
and our present thoughts build our life for tomorrow:
our life is the creation of our mind.
If a man acts or speaks with an impure mind,
suffering follows him as the wheel of the cart follows
the beast that draws the cart.
What we are today comes from the thoughts of yesterday,
and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow:
our life is the creation of our mind.
If a man speaks or acts with a pure mind,
joy follows him as his own shadow.

The DHAMMAPADA vs 1-2
The DHAMMAPADA

Instead of choosing to be a Victim: Victim Thinking = Victim Behavior =Victim Reality = Victim Thinking = Victim Behavior = Victim Reality->

We can choose success: Success Thinking = Success Behavior = Success Reality = Success Thinking = Success Behavior->

(You must come up with your own definition of success)

This is not a secret and it is not easy. changing ones belief systems can take hard work and many years of practice. Many of the great minds throughout the history of time integrate improving ones self through Learning, Self introspection, Application and Wisdom.

Only when we learn something can we see where we can improve, applythe areas that we want to do better and then become master of ourselves, thoughts, actions and circles of influence.

Seek after edification, understanding and wisdom

We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. ~ Joseph Smith

Experience as education

“No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven”
–Orson F. Whitney

Recommended Reading:

Continuing To Learn

Benjamin Franklin: Wit and Wisdom

Self-Education: Socrates

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” ~Albert Einstein

 

What is it about the massive gathering of information that makes a person think that they are wise?

Is there more to learning than the gathering of data and memorization of facts?

Where does critical thinking fit in as an infinite process of trying to understand?

What is it that we are trying to accomplish through this understanding?

 

According to Russell Ackoff a system theorist and professor of organizational change, there is a hierarchy of content in the human mind.

 

 

David Moursund mentioned “Data, information, knowledge, and wisdom form a scale, although a rather peculiar scale. The points on the scale are not closely related even though they are often talked about at the same time.

 

Generally I would hesitate to try to convey a thought merely through definition.  I would however like to point out a few key definitions explaining the parts of our thinking system.

 

Data: Factual information (as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation.

Information: Data that are processed to be useful; provides answers to “who”, “what”, “where”, and “when” questions.

Knowledge: Awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation.

Understanding: To understand something is to have conceptualized it to a given measure.

Wisdom: Ability to judge correctly and to follow the best course of action, based on knowledge and understanding.

 

Robert J Sternberg said “I define wisdom as the application of intelligence and experience toward the attainment of a common good. This attainment involves a balance among (a) intrapersonal (one’s own), (b) interpersonal (other people’s), and (c) extrapersonal (more than personal, such as institutional) interests, over the short and long terms. Thus, wise people look out not just for themselves, but for all toward whom they have any responsibility.”

 

My argument is that the gathering of information and memorizing facts is not only not the entire process of learning but merely a first step to true understanding and wisdom.

 

Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting.  ~Edmund Burke

 

The first step past the culmination of information is introspective thinking.  Reflection on ones self. Desire to improve or make a conscious effort to obtain ones best self.

 

He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not is a slave.  ~William Drummond

 

If one does not perform this type of process, that of critical and introspective reasoning in daily life they are merely a slave to their surroundings.  How can we be otherwise when there is no desire to understand and improve based on our understanding?

 

The step past that of desire to change is to realize that there are parts of oneself that our knowledge and understanding can be applied to.

 

These parts are as follows:

Mental

Emotional

Physical

Spiritual

Social

Financial

 

We realize that the application of our thoughts and knowledge can be applied to each of these different parts.

 

Many of the different organizations and religions throughout the history of time have sought to enlighten oneself through the ability to learn and apply our knowledge to each of these areas.  Please let me point out a few of these groups.

 

Bushido (The way of the samurai)

As Inazo Nitobe defines it: Bushido means literally the military-knight ways – the ways which fighting nobles should observe in their daily life as well as in their vocation; in a word, the precepts of knighthood.

What characterized the samurai and supported their action and knowledge of right and wrong is what we now popularly call the bushido code or the seven virtues of bushido.  Some of the virtues are inspired by the teachings of Confucius and Mencius.

 

Te seven virtues of bushido briefly stated are:

1. GI – Right Action, Duty

do the right thing.

2. YUUKI – Courage

brave, courageous energy.

3. JIN - Benevolence

the benevolence that unites each human being to the other.

4. REI – Politeness or Morality

to have politeness, respect shown in social behavior.

5. MAKOTO – Truthfulness

to follow truly the Law of the Universe.

6. MEIYO – Honor

to enjoy a good reputation, honor.

7. CHUUGI – Loyalty

to act faithfully, to be loyal.

Zen Buddhism

Based on a single, esoteric idea: all humans have a Buddha nature inside them and to realize this nature all a human being has to do is search his or her inner self. The key to Buddhahood in Zen is simply self-knowledge. The way to gain self-knowledge is through meditation (which is what the word “zen” means). Now, “meditation” is one of the cornerstones of Buddhism, where, under the name dhyana , it forms the final and most important aspect of gaining enlightenment. But Zen (in Chinese, Ch’an ) or Meditation Buddhism granted meditation an exclusive importance not ascribed to it in other Buddhist schools. Meditation, which was a means to an end in other Buddhist schools, became the end in itself in Zen: meditation was Truth realized in action. As a result, Zen readily dispenses with the Buddhist scriptures and philosophical discussion in favor of a more intuitive and individual approach to enlightenment. Meditation, however, is a strict religious discipline: the mind must be made sharp and attentive in order to intuit from itself the Truth of Buddhahood. Part of this discipline involves waking up the mind of the disciple, making it aware of the things around it.

Christianity

The Christian life involves a number of different aspects. Among the key ones are

• Fellowship with God

• Our relationships with others

• Obedience to God’s commands

• Discipline

Christianity is about personal relationships: with God and with others. When Jesus was asked to summarize his religion, he said that it was loving God and our neighbor. Everything else is a means to that end. One of the most important terms for Christians is “fellowship”. This term covers our life together as Christians. This means first of all that we spend time together, in worship, educational activities, service to others, and just having fun. In addition to their primary goal, these activities help us get to know each other, and to develop into a community. The Bible refers to the Christian community using organic metaphors, such as a vine and a body. It talks about us sharing with each other and supporting each other.

 

The true test of wisdom is the ability we have to implement that which we have learned.  In looking at the former positions we start to learn that the object of esoteric thought is to gain self understanding and the ability to apply all that we learn.  We can understand why our object will always be self improvement and self mastery.

One who conquers himself is greater than another who conquers a thousand times a thousand on the battlefield. ~Buddha

 

He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still. ~Lau-tzu

 

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. ~Lau-tzu

Excerpts take from Critical Thinking Handbook: High School on http://www.criticalthinking.org

The Role of Socratic Questioning in Thinking, Teaching, & Learning

One of the reasons that instructors tend to overemphasize “coverage” over “engaged thinking” is that they do not fully appreciate the role of questions in teaching content. Consequently, they assume that answers can be taught separate from questions. Indeed, so buried are questions in established instruction that the fact that all assertions — all statements that this or that is so — are implicit answers to questions is virtually never recognized. For example, the statement that water boils at 100 degrees centigrade is an answer to the question “At what temperature centigrade does water boil?” Hence every declarative statement in the textbook is an answer to a question. Hence, every textbook could be rewritten in the interrogative mode by translating every statement into a question. To our knowledge this has never been done. That it has not is testimony to the privileged status of answers over questions in instruction and the misunderstanding of teachers about the significance of questions in the learning (and thinking) process. Instruction at all levels now keeps most questions buried in a torrent of obscured “answers.”

Thinking is Driven by Questions

But thinking is not driven by answers but by questions. Had no questions been asked by those who laid the foundation for a field — for example, Physics or Biology — the field would never have been developed in the first place. In fact, every intellectual field is born out of a cluster of questions to which answers are either needed or highly desirable. Furthermore, every field stays alive only to the extent that fresh questions are generated and taken seriously as the driving force in a process of thinking. To think through or rethink anything, one must ask questions that stimulate thought.

Questions define tasks, express problems and delineate issues. Answers on the other hand, often signal a full stop in thought. Only when an answer generates a further question does thought continue its life as such. This is why it is true that only students who have questions are really thinking and learning. Moreover, the quality of the questions students ask determines the quality of the thinking they are doing. It is possible to give students an examination on any subject by just asking them to list all of the questions that they have about a subject, including all questions generated by their first list of questions. That we do not test students by asking them to list questions and explain their significance is again evidence of the privileged status we give to answers isolated from questions. That is, we ask questions only to get thought-stopping answers, not to generate further questions.

Feeding Students Endless Content to Remember

Feeding students endless content to remember (that is, declarative sentences or “facts” to remember) is akin to repeatedly stepping on the brakes in a vehicle that is, unfortunately, already at rest. Instead, students need questions to turn on their intellectual engines and they must themselves generate questions from our questions to get their thinking to go somewhere. Thinking is of no use unless it goes somewhere, and again, the questions we ask determine where our thinking goes. It is only when our thinking goes somewhere that we learn anything of value to us.

Deep questions drive our thought underneath the surface of things, force us to deal with complexity. Questions of purpose force us to define our task. Questions of information force us to look at our sources of information as well as at the quality of our information. Questions of interpretation force us to examine how we are organizing or giving meaning to information and to consider alternative ways of giving meaning. Questions of assumption force us to examine what we are taking for granted. Questions of implication force us to follow out where our thinking is going. Questions of point of view force us to examine our point of view and to consider other relevant points of view. Questions of relevance force us to discriminate what does and what does not bear on a question. Questions of accuracy force us to evaluate and test for truth and correctness. Questions of precision force us to give details and be specific. Questions of consistency force us to examine our thinking for contradictions. Questions of logic force us to consider how we are putting the whole of our thought together, to make sure that it all adds up and makes sense within a reasonable system of some kind.

Dead Questions Reflect Dead Minds

Unfortunately, most students ask virtually none of these thought-stimulating types of questions. They tend to stick to dead questions like “Is this going to be on the test?” questions that imply the desire not to think. Most teachers in turn are not themselves generators of questions and answers of their own, that is, are not seriously engaged in thinking through or rethinking through their own subjects. Rather, they are purveyors of the questions and answers of others — usually those of a textbook.

We must continually remind ourselves that thinking begins within some content only when questions are generated by both teachers and students. No questions equals no understanding. Superficial questions equals superficial understanding. Most students typically have no intellectual questions. They not only sit in silence; their minds are silent at well. Hence, the questions they do have tend to be superficial, ill-formed and self-serving. This demonstrates that most of the time they are not thinking through the content they are presumed to be learning. In other words, most of the time they are not learning the content they are presumed to be learning.

If we want to engage students in thinking through our content we must stimulate their thinking with questions that lead them to further questions. We must overcome what previous schooling has done to the thinking of students. We must resuscitate minds that are largely dead when we receive them. We must give our students what might be called “artificial cogitation” (the intellectual equivalent of artificial respiration).

The Art of Socratic Questioning

The art of Socratic questioning is important for the critical thinker because the art of questioning is important to excellence of thought. What the word ‘Socratic’ adds is “systematicity”, “depth”, and a keen interest in assessing the truth or plausibility of things.

There is a special relationship between critical thinking and Socratic Questioning because both share a common end. Critical thinking gives one a comprehensive view of how the mind functions (in its pursuit of meaning and truth), and Socratic Questioning takes advantage of that overview to frame questions essential to the quality of that pursuit.

The goal of critical thinking is to establish a disciplined “executive” level of thinking to our thinking, a powerful inner voice of reason, to monitor, assess, and re-constitute — in a more rational direction — our thinking, feeling, and action. Socratic discussion cultivates that inner voice by providing a public model for it.

The Spirit and Principles of Socratic Questioning

While there are numerous ways in which Socratic Questioning can be effectively executed in the classroom, there are a set of principles, which guide a Socratic dialog. In this section, these principles are laid out in the form of directives.

Teachers Engaged in a Socratic Dialog Should:

• Respond to all answers with a further question (that calls upon the respondent to develop his/her thinking in a fuller and deeper way)

• Seek to understand–where possible–the ultimate foundations for what is said or believed and follow the implications of those foundations through further questions

• Treat all assertions as a connecting point to further thoughts

• Treat all thoughts as in need of development

• Recognize that any thought can only exist fully in a network of connected thoughts. Stimulate students — through your questions — to pursue those connections

• Recognize that all questions presuppose prior questions and all thinking presupposes prior thinking. When raising questions, be open to the questions they presuppose. (See the section on logically-prior questions.)

Teachers engaged in Socratic dialog should systematically raise questions based on the following recognitions and assumptions:

Focusing on The Elements of Thought

• Recognize that all thought reflects an agenda. Assume that you do not fully understand the thought until you understand the agenda behind it. (What are you trying to accomplish in saying this? What is your central aim in this line of thought?)

• Recognize that all thoughts presuppose an information base. Assume that you do not fully understand the thought until you understand the background information that supports or informs it. (What information are you basing that comment on? What experience convinced you of this? How do we know this information is accurate?)

• Recognize that all thought requires the making of inferences, the drawing of conclusions, the creation of meaning. Assume that you do not fully understand a thought until you understand the inferences that have shaped it. (How did you reach that conclusion? Could you explain your reasoning? Is there an alternative plausible conclusion?)

• Recognize that all thought involves the application of concepts. Assume that you do not fully understand a thought until you understand the concepts that define and shape it. (What is the main idea you are putting forth? Could you explain that idea?)

• Recognize that all thought rests upon other thoughts (which are taken for granted or assumed). Assume that you do not fully understand a thought until you understand what it takes for granted. (What exactly are you taking for granted here? Why are you assuming that?)

• Recognize that all thought is headed in a direction. It not only rests upon something (assumptions), it is also going somewhere (implications and consequences). Assume that you do not fully understand a thought unless you know the implications and consequences that follow from it. (What are you implying when you say that? Are you implying that . . . ?)

• Recognize that all thought takes place within a point of view or frame of reference. Assume that you do not fully understand a thought until you understand the point of view or frame of reference which places it on an intellectual map. (From what point of view are you looking at this? Is there another point of view we should consider?)

• Recognize that all thought is responsive to a question. Assume that you do not fully understand the thought until you understand the question that gives rise to it. (I am not sure exactly what question you are raising. Could you explain it?)

Systems and Contexts For Thought

• Recognize that all thought has three possible functions: to express a subjective preference, to establish an objective fact (within a well-defined system), or to come up with the best of competing answers (generated by competing systems). Assume that you do not fully understand thinking until you know which of the three is involved. (Is the question calling for a subjective or personal choice? If so, let’s make that choice in terms of our personal preferences. If not, then, is there a way to come up with one correct answer to this question (a definite system in which to find the answer)? Or, finally, are we dealing with a question that would be answered differently within different points of view? If the latter, what is the best answer to the question, all things considered?)

• Recognize that all thought has emerged within a human context. Assume that you do not fully understand the thought until you understand the context which has given rise to it. (Tell us more about the situation that has given rise to this problem. What was going on in this situation?)

How To Prepare To Lead a Socratic Discussion

One of the best ways to prepare to lead a Socratic discussion is by pre-thinking the main question to be discussed using the approach of developing prior questions. Prior questions are questions presupposed by another question. Hence, to settle the question “What is multi-culturalism?” I should be able to first settle the question, “What is culture?” and, to settle that question, I should be able to settle the question “What is the basis of culture?” that is, “What are the factors about a person which determine what culture he/she belongs to?”

Construct A List of Prior Questions

To construct a list of prior questions, simply write down the main question which you are going to focus your discussion on and then pose a question you would have to be able to answer before you could answer the first. Then take the second question and do the same for it (i.e., determine what question you would have to answer to answer it). Then, continue on, following the same procedure for every new question on your list.

As you proceed to construct your list keep your attention focused on the first question on the list as well as on the last. If you do this well, you should end up with a list of questions which probe the logic of the first question, and hence, a list of questions which are relevant to a Socratic discussion of your first question. During the Socratic dialog, you should loosely follow your list of logically prior questions, using it primarily as a guide for deeply probing the issue at hand.

A Sample List

As an example of how to construct logically prior questions, consider this list of questions that we developed in thinking through a key question intended for use in conducting a Socratic discussion on the question, “What is history?”

• What is history?
• What do historians write about?
• What is the past?
• Is it possible to include all of the past in a history book?
• How many of the events during a given time period are left out in a history of that time period?
• Is more left out than is included?
• How does a historian know what to emphasize or focus on?
• Do historians make value judgments in deciding what to include and what to leave out?
• Is it possible to simply list facts in a history book or does all history writing involve interpretations as well as facts?
• Is it possible to decide what to include and exclude and how to interpret facts without adopting a historical point of view?
• How can we begin to judge a historical interpretation?
• How can we begin to judge a historical point of view?

I resolve that:
I think twice before I speak.
That when I do speak it will be gently .
That my thoughts of others are noble and just and to be cared for.
That I condemn no one.
That I help others help them selves.
That I give encouragement.
That I love beauty and hate vileness.
That I respect all others as myself.
That I develop strength and patience.
That I breathe with deep, healthful thoughts.
That I become filled with knowledge and all experiences.
That I love all of my fellow men and believe in co-operation and sacrifice.
That I will give my life protecting the chastity, innocence and purity of women.

That I have Honor no matter what situation I am in.

Brett Morris

Starting with the knowledge that there are parts of us including mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, social and I am starting to see a place for financial. I have been thinking about the different ways that we can personally improve inside of each of these areas. Is it writing down goals and then hoping to reach them at the end of a time frame that you set for yourself? Is it to be a positive thinker and invite the energy of the universe into your life and hope that you improve? Is it any number of things?”

I would suggest that it takes a very organized an orderly and accountable approach in order to directly improve these areas of your life. The suggestions on the 17 principles of success from Napoleon Hill touch on how to self improve.

1 ) Definiteness of Purpose

2 ) Mastermind Alliance

3 ) Applied faith

4 ) Going the extra mile

5 ) Pleasing Personality

6 ) Personal Initiative

7 ) Positive Mental Attitude

8 ) Enthusiasm

9  ) Self Discipline

10 ) Accurate thinking

11 ) Controlled Attention

12 ) Team Work

13 ) Learning from Diversity and Defeat

14 ) Creative Vision

15 ) Maintenance of sound Health

16 ) Budgeting time and money

17 ) Cosmic Habit force

However they are still almost static. Just sitting there on a page they really don’t do anything for you. Actually nothing can do anything for you. That is unless you have a sincere desire in your heart to change. This brings us to the mighty change of heart that we see in the scriptures. I have found that a mighty change of heart rarely occurs overnight or immediately, but by my definition it is having the energy to choose the right even when you don’t feel like it or even in the face of the adversary. It is an upwards cycle of you doing the best you can even when you have made a mistake. In the LDS faith We promise to have faith, repentance, baptism , holy ghost, endure to the end, search, ponder, pray, have a change of heart, return and report.

It says it well in D+C 109:8 organize yourselves! Prepare every needful thing and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of god. In return we are promised the atonement, the plan of salvation, the scriptures, word of god, revelation, the comforter, being quickened by the spirit and even a renewal of our bodies. In D+C it says that there is a law “irrevocably” decreed that when we obtain any blessing it is by obedience to a law.

Now, what does all of that have to do with self improvement and napoleon hill? Well a few things stick out at me in some of those scriptures. Such as organize yourselves, have a house of learning, a house of order, Search, Ponder, Pray and having a change of heart.

To have a house learning can mean studying the things like we are discussing. Search can mean that while you are learning it can become difficult and you have to search for the answers. Ponder means to think about and self analyze or internalize what we are learning. Having a change of heart means to want to change. It means that you want to change more than you want to………….fill in the blank.

Now I left order and organization out last for a reason. These words are very similar. Let me explain however how they differ. You can be totally organized yet doing things in the wrong order and you may not succeed. In order to Self improve, we must organize ourselves and be more orderly. In order to organize myself usually I write down tasks in a planner and then execute them in the right order. This is very similar to what needs to be done through self improvement. We write down what we want to do. That sounds easy but we must do it in a very specific way.

Going back to the model of Mental, Emotional, Spiritual, Physical, Social and financial, We will write down 2 – 3 things that we want to improve on, but in a very specific way. This way is called APROPOS.

A=Aim. Where are you headed? Where do you want to be? Use Specific Behaviors and dates. How will you know if you have arrived at your destination?

P=Position audit. Where am I now? In relationship to where I want to be? A very clear analysis of my current situation.

R= Resources.What is needed in order for me to reach my aim? People? Money? Specific description.

O= Obstacles and Opportunities. As I start to close the gap of where I am to my goal what will lie in my way and what will be able to help me? How can I forsee roadblocks or tours? What are the consequences with not overcoming the consequences? What are the benefits of taking advantage of the opportunities?

P=Program What is the long term plan to close the gap? 3-5 years

O=Objectives These are the midterm tactics and are for the 1-3 year range

S=Steps What are the action steps needed from now through one year, that are clearly thepath that I shouldtaketo make my goal. This will spell outdates and is the who?, What? Where? Why? and How?

The final section of APROPOS includes a review section that you can record results, your thoughts and feelings. This surprisingly is called a Journal. When I mentioned the return and report, this is where that comes in. We review our action steps at the beginning of the day, week, and month writing down our progress.

As we look at the Mental, Emotional, Spiritual, Physical, Social and financial goals that we have, there is something that we must learn about reality. IT IS FAKE. Really, almost all day long you tell yourself stories that are based on assumptions and judgments. Rarely what we tell ourselves is real at all. You see, usually you let “reality” control your thoughts. You react to events that go on around you and you let yourself become a pawn. This is called the victim story.

Victim Thinking = Victim Behavior =Victim Reality = Victim Thinking = Victim Behavior = Victim Reality->

I mentioned a change of heart. This is where we can apply that. This victim thinking has got to stop in order to reach our goals and ultimately our potentials. This is where you can dramatically improve your lifestyle, your income, your happiness and your way of life.

Now, use your imaginations with me… You are now relieved of having to respond and act like you are expected to. You are now in the reality of “As If” This reality has been given to you by yourself. The reality of “As If” is your potential and is everything that you ever thought you could be or do. It is this reality that we are going to climb onto to make ourselves successful. It is here that we will succeed.

We are going to call this reality “CHAMPION REALITY”. I call it that because It is how champions think.

Champion Reality = Champion Thinking = Champion Behavior = Champion Reality = Champion Thinking = Champion Behavior

When you eliminate in your mind the lies that you tell yourself and replace it with Championship thinking you will quickly realize why this tool is so important.

Once you have learned the tools and have the desire you can now apply.

Let’s say that we are working on the social aspect and have decided that interpersonal communication is what we want to be working on. I say” I am a champion. I am a champion of all things. I am a champion at communication. I can communicate with anyone, anywhere, under any circumstances, because I am a champion.

Now the details are left to ourselves. What do we want to work on? How much self mastery are we willing to work for? These are the things that napoleon hill talks about. But after you read it and it touches you…. You must find away to do it.

You have most likely seen the secret and know all of the rules of positive thinking, affirmations and self-mantras. You may have also read some books by Tony Robbins or Stephen covey. I truly do believe that the way to self improvement is consistently using these techniques to reprogram the structure of your thinking that has become a natural reaction through years of use.

It can be difficult to retrain yourself to be positive even in the face of your environment’s negativity and chaos. Using positive affirmations, visuals and other techniques you can transform your life and develop into whoever you want to be.

Thinking about positive affirmations has lead me to believe that there must also be positive De-affirmation and the realization that you may be doing something that needs to be changed.

Change requires work.

If you are doing something that you want to change and change requires work, you will have to work.

In saying this I bring up one of the most important positive De-affirmations that we can work on.

Procrastination.

If we could overcome this one area, our lives could be transformed at a pace that far outruns our normal strategies and current thinking patterns.

How can we Positively De-affirm?

One of the best ways that we can do this is to Recognize that we have a certain behavior or our thought habits run through a certain pattern. We can then Decide that we want to change this pattern or belief system. After our decision to change we should not continue to beat ourselves up or deliberate on the behavior that we want to change. This is where positive affirmation comes in. We start the process of Replacing our current beliefs and thought patterns.

You must believe that you are no longer a procrastinator.

Say to yourself, I do things efficiently and speedily. I am a very efficient person. I love to work hard. I am an organizer. I do things as soon as the opportunity presents itself. When a task that I have the proper responsibility for shows up, I do it as soon as I can every time! I enjoy finding tasks that make my life cleaner and more positive. You must feel as if you are the hardest worker that there ever was. Think as if you were the most efficient person that has ever existed. You are this person.

You see, usually you let “reality” control your thoughts. You react to events that go on around you and you let yourself become a pawn. This type of thinking has to stop. Remember the “Work” that I talked about? This is it! This is where you can dramatically improve your lifestyle, your income, your happiness and your way of life.

You are now relieved of having to respond and act like you are expected to. You are now in the reality of “As If” This reality has been given to you by yourself. The reality of “As If” is your potential and is everything that you ever thought you could be or do.

You are a doer. You dont even know what “putting something off till later” Means.

You will be surprised at how “reality” starts to fall in line with “As If” .

Here is how this works

Think = Behavior = Reality = Think = Behavior = Reality ——->

Usually, as you can see we let this so called reality rule our thinking. We then bahave or react the way we have so many times before and the way we will continue to unless the cycle is broken.

Now we can break the cycle.

We virtually change our realities. We change our beliefs.

“As If” Reality = New Thinking = New Behavior = “As If” Reality = New Thinking = New Behavior

Think-Act-Be

It is your Socratic Life.

How you think describes who you are.

Peter Clemens from PickTheBrain Wrote this Great article!

Discipline is freedom. You may disagree with this statement, and if you do you are certainly not alone. For many people discipline is a dirty word that is equated with the absence of freedom. In fact the opposite is true. As Stephen R. Covey once wrote, “the undisciplined are slaves to moods, appetites and passions”. And in the longer term, the undisciplined lack the freedom that comes with possessing particular skills and abilities – e.g. to play a musical instrument or speak a foreign language.

Self-discipline involves acting according to what you think instead of how you feel in the moment. Often it involves sacrificing the pleasure and thrill of the moment for what matters most in life. Therefore it is self-discipline that drives you to:

• Work on an idea or project after the initial rush of enthusiasm has faded away
• Go to the gym when all you want to do is lie on the couch and watch TV
• Wake early to work on yourself
• Say “no” when tempted to break your diet
• Only check your email a few of times per day at particular times

In the past self-discipline has been a weakness of mine, and as a result today I find myself lacking the ability to do a number of things which I would like – e.g. to play the guitar. But I have improved, and I can say that it is self-discipline that got me out of bed this morning at 5am to run and then write this article. Believe me, I would love to be curled up in bed right now, but this desire is subordinated by my inner sense of purpose.

If you struggle with self-discipline, the good news is that it can be developed. For example, it is only in the past two years that I have trained myself to wake early. The following are what I have found to be the five traits of self-discipline:

1. Self-Knowledge

Discipline means behaving according to what you have decided is best, regardless of how you feel in the moment. Therefore the first trait of discipline is self-knowledge. You need to decide what behavior best reflects your goals and values. This process requires introspection and self-analysis, and is most effective when tied to written expression. I highly recommend taking the time to write out your goals, dreams and ambitions. Even better, write out a personal mission statement. I found that writing such a statement gave me a greater understanding of who I am, what I am about and what I value. Dr. Covey has an excellent Mission Statement Builder on his site.

2. Conscious Awareness

Self-discipline depends upon conscious awareness as to both what you are doing and what you are not doing. Think about it. If you aren’t aware your behavior is undisciplined, how will you know to act otherwise?

As you begin to build self-discipline, you may catch yourself being in the act of being undisciplined – e.g. biting your nails, avoiding the gym, eating a piece of cake or checking your email constantly. Developing self-discipline takes time, and the key here is you are aware of your undisciplined behavior. With time this awareness will come earlier, meaning rather than catching yourself in the act of being undisciplined you will have awareness before you act in this way. This gives you the opportunity to make a decision that is in better alignment with your goals and values.

3. Commitment to Self-Discipline

It is not enough to simply write out your goals and values. You must make an internal commitment to them. Otherwise when your alarm clock goes off at 5am you will see no harm in hitting the snooze button for “just another 5 minutes….” Or, when initial rush of enthusiasm has faded away from a project you will struggle to see it through to completion.

If you struggle with commitment, start by making a conscious decision to follow through on what you say you’re going to do – both when you said you would do it and how you said you would do it. Then, I highly recommend putting in place a system to track these commitments. As the saying goes, “What gets measured gets improved”.

4. Courage

Did you notice the sweat dripping from the man in the picture at the start of this article? Make no mistake, self-discipline is often extremely difficult. Moods, appetites and passions can be powerful forces to go against. Therefore self-discipline is highly dependent on courage. Don’t pretend something is easy for you to do when it is in fact very difficult and/ or painful. Instead, find the courage to face this pain and difficulty. As you begin to accumulate small private victories, your self-confidence will grow and the courage that underpins self-discipline will come more naturally.

5. Internal Coaching

Self-talk is often harmful, but it can also be extremely beneficial if you have control of it. When you find yourself being tested, I suggest you talk to yourself, encourage yourself and reassure yourself. After all, it is self-talk that has the ability to remind you of your goals, call up courage, reinforce your commitment and keep you conscious of the task at hand. When I find my discipline being tested, I always recall the following quote: “The price of discipline is always less than the pain of regret”. Burn this quote into your memory, and recall in whenever you find yourself being tested. It may change your life.

Excerpts from “the new brain” by Richard Restak, M.D.

“But I think the process of personal dis-integration is furthered by our constant exposure to the media, principally television.” pg. 41

“Civilization is revving itself into a pathologically short attention span” pg. 45

Everywhere I go I can see the effects of media. It seems like everyone has a hand held device that gives some sort of entertainment.

The kid riding a bike? Headphones.

The guy driving a car? Instant messaging on cell phone.

The girl at the dinner table with her parents? Headphones.

I thoughtfully look at the word that Dr. Restak used when describing the media. Personal dis-integration.

Integration is the process of combining incoming information and is one of the functions of the nervous system.

When you are reading a book about let’s say the illiad, and you are using your imagination to actively think about and process what is being read about, you are using your mind. You are using the pathways that have been built when you were a child as you were first learning. These pathways are the very center of our imagination and capability of thought.

You are combining incoming information. This is Integration.

So what is happening when one relies completely on an outside stimulus for “Entertainment?”

You may have your own take on it………..unless of course you are watching t.v, but it seems to me that you are overriding the processes that naturally happen as you day dream, or read a book, or color, or put together a puzzle, or think. When there is no effort on your part to make electricity shoot down those pathways, (thought) then you are completely overriding the system that you use to think.

When this system is overridden and overridden and this outside stimuli is used as a faux Integration it leads to an atrophy of the brain. This stimulus is telling your mind that it has what it needs and you need not come up with anything on your own. Your mind is left completely dormant.

It dis-integrates.

No wonder this society has a short attention span. They are completely reliant on media to think for them.

You can figure the moral out for yourself.

Heres a Hint……… All things in moderation.

This Article has been brought to you by www.mysuperchargedlife.com and the letter a.

In order to stay sharp, it is important that you exercise your brain. The less we use our minds, the duller they become. There is a lot of emphasis these days on staying physically healthy, but we should also be concerned for our mental well-being. Our brains continue to expand and adapt to the stimuli they receive throughout our lives. The more we take care of our brains, the better thinkers we become. Here are twenty ways that you can develop a training regimen for your brain!

1. Read a good book.

Reading a book stimulates the imagination. Your brain can’t keep from drawing mental pictures when you read. Reading gets your mind off its butt and to work. I love to let a book carry me away. I always have a book that I’m reading and sometimes I have 3 or 4! I get most of my books from the library to avoid the cost of buying each one. This also allows me to try a wide variety of books without risk.

2. Big Brain Academy.

Video games have a bad reputation for causing brain rot, but there are some that will actually help you strengthen your mind. I like Big Brain Academy for the Wii. It is a collection of brain teasers that tests your mental acuity. The tests are entertaining and addicting. You can even compete with others which makes for some great family fun.

3. Practice meditation.

Don’t worry, I’m not going off the new age deep-end here. There are a lot of different forms of meditation. To me, in its most simple form, meditation is about spending a little time alone to relax and center your thoughts. It is amazingly therapeutic. If you haven’t tried meditation before, I would highly recommend reading this guide to meditation.

4. Get plenty of rest.

A lack of sleep can interfere with your ability to assimilate new information. This means those all-nighters you pulled back in college were much less effective than you thought. Your brain needs rest to operate at its peak performance. This may be why things always seem clearer and brighter after a good night’s sleep.

5. Exercise regularly.

You didn’t think you were going to get away without a little time on the treadmill did you? Cardiovascular exercise improves blood flow to the brain which improves brain functioning. One study found that physical exercise actually helped to increase the volume of the brain. So, if you want a bigger, better brain, then get to exercising!

6. Eat a good breakfast.

It is not a myth. Eating a good breakfast does get you off to a better start. You should eat a breakfast high in protein and good carbohydrates. A couple of pieces of whole-grain toast with peanut butter will fit the bill. Eggs are also an excellent source of protein. Nuts, milk, and fresh fruit are also great ways to feed your brain.

7. Think positive thoughts.

Encourage yourself. I am convinced that positive thinking increases the effectiveness of the brain and helps to avoid things like depression. I like to say that your brain works much like a computer, garbage-in, garbage-out. Find positive, encouraging people to hang around, read material that jazzes you up, do whatever it is that makes you feel good about yourself. These things will also help you be more mentally productive.

8. Be a continual learner.

Never stop being curious about your world. Seek out new experiences, skills, and knowledge. Think of something that you’ve always wanted to learn to do and then get started. A now famous study, showed that certain areas of the brains of London cab drivers were more developed compared to the average citizen. This was due to their need to learn how to navigate the maze of downtown streets. We can use this technique of challenging our brains to improve our abilities.

9. Lay off the alcohol.

Alcohol is of course a depressant. It slows down mental functions. The effects of alcohol on a person’s cognitive ability is well-documented. If you need peak mental performance, then stop drinking alcohol. In addition to its obvious effects, it also decreases the restfulness of one’s sleep which, as we have already discussed, impedes your ability to think clearly.

10. Get romantic (especially if you’re a woman).

Studies have shown that there may be a link between regular sex and improved brain performance in women. Love-making increases a woman’s estrogen levels and higher estrogen levels are tied to better mental performance. Of course, the mental benefits probably do not outweigh the risks, unless you are in a faithful, monogamous relationship.

11. Break your routines.

Drive a new way to work. Try writing with your less dominant hand. Mix things up a little. This perks up your brain because it requires you to think more. You aren’t just running on auto-pilot. Challenge your brain by getting out of your routines and it will respond. This is a great way to get your mental juices flowing.

12. Stop watching so much television.

Researchers have found that too much television between the ages of 1 and 3 leads to attention problems later in childhood. Let’s face it, TV is mind-numbing. Get up off the couch and away from the television. Sure, there is some good educational stuff for children and adults, but the average American watches way too much TV. If you want peak mental performance, then turn off the boob tube.

13. Work with numbers.

Do math problems in your head instead of on a calculator. For many of us, it is use it or lose it. We have become mentally lazy. We rely on our gadgets instead of thinking for ourselves. Working with and memorizing numbers is a great way to get your brain back in shape. This could pay off big dividends down the road!

14. Stop relying on your GPS to tell you where to go.

Remember the cab drivers in #8 above? Using your brain to figure out how to get from Point A to Point B is good mental exercise. You have to use your brain’s ability to determine spatial relationships to effectively read a map and navigate a city. Traveling in an unfamiliar area is even better!

15. Recall old memories.

Get out those old picture albums and start thumbing through them. This taps into your brains memory banks. Pictures will help you recall things that you thought you forgot. Dig deep to see just what all you remember. If you have other ways to stimulate your memory, like old letters or home movies, then by all means use those too.

16. Make beautiful music.

Learning to play a musical instrument is a great way to super-charge your brain. It requires a number of different parts of your brain to work together to make the melodies that you desire. Of course, if you are already a musician, then learn a new piece. Push yourself to learn new techniques. Music is a great workout for the mind.

17. Speak a new tongue.

Many people agree that learning to a speak a new language is a powerful way to give the mind a stretch. If you’ve ever tried to learn even a few new words, then you know this can be difficult. Of course, the harder something is for the brain, the better! You have so much more mental capacity than you might imagine. Give it a try!

18. Memorize a song.

Many of us have lots of old songs stored in our heads, but why not expand your memory by learning a few new tunes? It may take awhile at first, but if you keep at it, you will find it gets easier. This is your brain getting back in shape.

19. Walk around the house blindfolded.

It might seem like a strange activity, but your brain can handle it. Once you try it a few times, you will probably find it fun and challenging. Again, this one draws on your memory, motor skills, and reasoning abilities. What a workout!

20. Expand your vocabulary.

Decide to learn one new word a day. There are several websites out there that can help you with this endeavor. You’ll not only be expanding your mind, but you’ll also be able to impress your friends and co-workers when you work one of your new words into a conversation.

Get started today and be smarter tomorrow!

There you have it! I have just given you 20 very practical ways to sharpen your mind. These suggestions will have your brain back in tip-top shape in no time. Why are you waiting? It is time to start exercising your mental muscles!

How do you keep your brain in perfect working order?

10W-40?

While thinking about the different things that you can do to “liven” up your intellectual perspectives you may take a quick peak at www.wikihow.com’s How to think like a genius.

The list is as follows.

1 ) Read
2 ) Learn
3 ) Solve
4 ) Detailed
5 ) Redefine
6 ) Think “What if?”
7 ) Inquisitive
8 ) Willing to listen
9 ) Multiple Perspective
10 ) Determined
11 ) Ambidextrous
12 ) Discover
13 ) Embrace
14 ) Unorthodox
15 ) Practice
16 ) Experiment
17 ) Open Mind

When we constantly push ourselves out of our own comfort zones into the unknown, we are exercising our minds and feelings. By doing this we can stretch our capacities and potential. If we put ourselves in situations to stretch our mental capacities we will only be the better for it as we meet life’s daily challenges.