Follow Zen Tools For How To Think Effectively - Blog, filter it, and define how you want to receive the news (via Email, RSS, Telegram, WhatsApp etc.) https://follow.it/zen-tools-for-how-to-think-effectively-blog Mon, 05 Jun 2023 11:03:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2geVhOECNjgyxeIF_fEM9tn Chaos, Disorder And Decay Is The Natural Order Of Things. Nobody has the perfect life. We all struggle and strive to attain health, wealth and personal happiness. Yet these three big areas: our health, our wealth and our relationships are where we all get hung out to dry – sooner or later. To see how things really are is to become conscious of our unconscious assumptions about ourselves and our world, and to bring them into the light of full consciousness, and to notice how, on close inspection, these assumptions often contradict our actual experience.]]> Tue, 23 May 2023 06:00:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2geVhOECNjgyxeIF_fEM9tn https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2jO2iTSSzprToIAmcWJ0TmB How To Tell The Difference Between Intuition and Anxiety. How do you know whether the voice of your intuition is real or just the product of your inner anxiety? Several months ago I was having a drink with a friend and I asked how she was getting on with her boyfriend. "Oh he's a very good man, a really decent human being, he'd make a wonderful husband and an excellent father... but I'm gonna end it." So naturally I asked why. "I have this feeling, this intuitive feeling, that this is not right for me..." Fast forward 3 months and they were spending their weekends together and planning a holiday in Portugal! I asked what had changed, and why, and she said: "I now see that so many times when I was dating or in relationships I thought I was hearing my intuition but I was actually hearing anxiety.]]> Tue, 16 May 2023 06:00:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2jO2iTSSzprToIAmcWJ0TmB https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2hn9FOAr-Cd92W0GqTRQSgk How the truth and nothing but the truth is often not the whole truth. My great aunty Flo broke her arm and died. It is true that she broke her arm in 1923. It is also true that she died in 1949. But there is no cause and effect relationship between these 2 events. The only connection between these events is that they appear in the same sentence. That is a simple illustration of how the acccurate and honest reporting of two truths is not the whole truth. To understand the whole truth we have to look at all the known and established facts and see the whole picture, which is often not as binary as it is often presented. Anything less than this is a partial truth.]]> Fri, 28 Apr 2023 16:44:11 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2hn9FOAr-Cd92W0GqTRQSgk https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2j0GtpsUiKDBXtuT6pSmY81 Duality and life beyond your thinking mind focuses on the limitations of time, foreground and background, duality and "stuckness". The first aspect of duality and life beyond your thinking mind focuses on the limitations of time, or more accurately our perception and experience of time. Put simply, and dramatically, there is no time. Time – more accurately described as “clock time” or “psychological time” - is a product of the mind. The course of time is really like the course of a ship in the ocean. The ship moves, and leaves behind it a wake, and the wake fades out, and it tells us where the ship has been in the same way our past, and our memory of the past, tells us where we have been.]]> Tue, 25 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2j0GtpsUiKDBXtuT6pSmY81 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2jpJ_thy6ZxKxKeetMRuZbW Being aware is the first stage of being prepared. The conscious mind is limited in so many ways. There are some who would argue that there is no such thing as conscious thought and that it is represents little more than an internal multi-modal display of thoughts arising from processes that are hidden to us. Let's temporarily park the idea that the content of the conscious mind is an illusion and take a practical look at some of the many ways in which the conscious mind is limited, and how to deal with it.]]> Tue, 18 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2jpJ_thy6ZxKxKeetMRuZbW https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2jY_Yk3qB-nTu9WSSr4-0sP The big picture of how your inner map of reality creates your feelings, thoughts, and behaviours. Your inner map of reality is based on the filters of your own ethnic, national, social, family and religious background, and you interpret and experience life from the perspective of that map. It can grow, change and adapt in response to new information and this in turn will be heavily influenced by your attitudes and beliefs. Your inner map of reality will reflect your past experience and therefore influence your expectations and behaviour. It represents the truth as you understand it.]]> Tue, 11 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2jY_Yk3qB-nTu9WSSr4-0sP https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2hdhwXbEmykwH1d0VB8z-7c Why we need to wear our beliefs lightly and develop negative capability. Throughout history people have campaigned to fight beliefs, ideologies, and injustices that they perceived to be oppressive, discriminating and morally wrong. Brave men and women have dedicated their lives to succesfully campaigning to bring about major change in society. They have achieved this by debate, demonstrations, lobbying, discussion and argument and above all else engagement. But the failure of cancel culture is that it does not seek engagement. It does not allow for any point of view other than its own.]]> Wed, 29 Mar 2023 10:43:27 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2hdhwXbEmykwH1d0VB8z-7c https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2hyKbUxpgsIge4DA87rvhPr Most People Spend Their Entire Life Imprisoned Within The Confines Of Their Own Thoughts. This first of the 4 big reasons why we get stuck is, in my view, the most important. The "self-help industry" generates $ USD billons per year, and many of us buy books and attend courses on how to improve ourselves. Yet most of the time we don’t change. We can’t change - it's why we get stuck. We have unconscious (and thus hidden) resistance. And yet we believe that if we keep on trying we can somehow gain control of our lives.]]> Sat, 25 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2hyKbUxpgsIge4DA87rvhPr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2jWbP18_bcvrTErtZyObPkc We Would Rather Die Than Change, And We Usually Do In my experience, the vast majority of people who say they want to change don’t change. Most people reading this won’t change because they don’t really want to change. They may on the surface, consciously, believe that they want to change, but there are at least 3 powerful forces at work that will likely undermine you. Unless you are aware of these forces and know how to deal with them, you will not succeed and you will remain the same as the vast majority of the human race.]]> Fri, 17 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2jWbP18_bcvrTErtZyObPkc https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2gqfTDdzMcf1y3FFO_xyF25 Think of the ego as Window 11 with self awareness. When we talk of "myself" this is the conventional way of referring to our self image which is in fact the ego's construction of its sense of self. I find it helpful to imagine the ego as our operating system and absolutely essential, in the same way "Windows 11" is essential for successful functioning of our laptops. But as with "Windows 11", however clever it is, it is just a piece of software. So when we say me, myself or I, metaphorically, think of “Windows 11" with self awareness! But beyond the content of your mind you are so much more than you think you are...]]> Fri, 10 Mar 2023 13:02:33 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2gqfTDdzMcf1y3FFO_xyF25 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2gUq_SaKjeSWAm0QkxGtqLL This is not an instruction manual, it is a wake up call! Over this past week I have read Professor James Carse's highly regarded "Finite And Infinite Games - A Vision Of Life As Play And Possibility" from cover to cover several times. It opens with the lines: “There at least two kinds of games. One could be called finite, the other infinite." Carse uses game theory as an analogy for two alternative views of how to play the game of life. This is a strange and challenging book that can change what you think you know about life and how you live it.]]> Fri, 24 Feb 2023 12:31:59 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2gUq_SaKjeSWAm0QkxGtqLL https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2hr3o3SOljpASxhxzpi7FpJ How Your Lizard Brain Sabotages Your Happiness We are hardwired to measure our progress in any and all areas of life where we have goals and aspirations. We can't not do it. But what we measure and how we measure matters because our default progress measurement setting leads to self sabotage and results in deep unhappiness and dissatisfaction with our lives.]]> Sat, 18 Feb 2023 07:00:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2hr3o3SOljpASxhxzpi7FpJ https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2iL3WbkYw3qFwC0qH-r7xlT So What Exactly Does It Mean to Wake Up - What Is "Enlightenment"? There is nothing magical, mystical or mysterious about waking up we’re actually having glimpses of enlightenment all the time. Enlightenment - waking up - means: - To be free of the effects of your mind
- To be unencumbered with thoughts about the past or the future
- To be 100% present-moment-aware This is also sometimes referred to as a "Unity Consciousness". This is an experience and not an idea. This is not something to attained or sought after. This is a deeply practical way to live. The focus of this article is to offer 4 simple practices to show you how to wake up and to live like this now:]]> Sun, 12 Feb 2023 14:33:57 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2iL3WbkYw3qFwC0qH-r7xlT https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2ipd_LEUPSfN1Lv-B9hV9S2 Situational communication is about taking account of 3 often ignored factors about the other person. You are a situational communicator when you recognise that effective communication is not an event but a process. This process is about understanding the other person's past experience, their competence and the way they behave in relation to whatever it is you want to accomplish, and then adopting the appropriate type of communication.]]> Thu, 02 Feb 2023 21:09:05 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2ipd_LEUPSfN1Lv-B9hV9S2 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2gtkE60QOzju0oy9CZgXDJO The secret to how to influence without authority is that you get what you really want by giving other people what they really want. We live in an interconnected world and knowing how to influence without authority is an increasingly important communictation skill. The fundamental principle of how to influence without authority is mirrored reciprocation whereby you get what you really want by giving other people what they really want. This goes beyond the transactional and is about building a "win-win" that addresses our deepest needs as human beings.]]> Mon, 23 Jan 2023 07:00:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2gtkE60QOzju0oy9CZgXDJO https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2i9fU4YurYENgSngkwrdsok Asking The Right Questions Is Critical For A Successful Change. Every time we initiate a significant change - whether in our personal life or in an organisation - we will most likely over-estimate our chances of a successful outcome and under-estimate the likelihood that things will not work out as we had planned. This article is part of a series on the art of persuasion, communication and change based on my 45 years in business, and I going to share with you a framework of questions that will enable you to successfully handle any significant change.]]> Mon, 16 Jan 2023 07:00:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2i9fU4YurYENgSngkwrdsok https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2hJfLQk3rKFdN5ZnUTwRGH7 Group culture is: "How we do things round here.". We like to see ourselves as free agents making our own choices and living authentically but the reality is that The Matrix has many layers and we are unaware that we are more enmeshed and ensnared than we realise. We are, to a very large extent, governed by our conditioning and our hardwired cognitive biases. Group culture is another one of those things that also has a very powerful influence on our thought processes, decisions and behaviours. Here's how group culture affects you and how you can take advantage of it.]]> Sun, 01 Jan 2023 07:00:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2hJfLQk3rKFdN5ZnUTwRGH7 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2iYYvRY-mVEgkFW8UNEQjUn In circumstances of significant change, the progress from A to B will not be in a straight line. We run our lives largely on auto-pilot. In most circumstances your experience of getting from A to B is relatively smooth and seemless, and when it isn't you have established ways and means of overcoming the bumps and obstructions. But when getting from A to B involves making significant changes such as (a) doing something new that will change the existing modus operandi; or (b) launching a major initiative or new venture, the progress from A to B will not be in a straight line. For you as an individual or an organisation it is critical that you apply the "business as usual" test.]]> Tue, 13 Dec 2022 07:00:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2iYYvRY-mVEgkFW8UNEQjUn https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2gOsGr2Q8Sth-GrEXdXG_66 To be successful in the art of persuasion you must ensure that certain things happen. To be successful in the art of persuasion you must establish a framework of what has to happen to get you to that successful buyin to your proposal by the other person. Circumstances will vary enormously. Persuading a friend to bring their family and join with yours on an Airbnb holiday is one thing and less complex than persuading the leader of a special interest group or a public institution to commit to a programme of activity or to adopt a policy. The process outlined here can be scaled up or simplified as the circumstances require.]]> Wed, 07 Dec 2022 07:00:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2gOsGr2Q8Sth-GrEXdXG_66 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2hNusv5xq85TGw5Ur-z5Bww Create The Environment Where They Want To Buyin to Your Proposal In order to build the win-win you have to uncover what it is that the other person really wants or needs, and to do that you have to ask questions. There are a series of steps you need to go through, which make the other person feel comfortable with you and see the purpose in your questions. In this article we are focused on advanced communication skills that will help you achieve this.]]> Wed, 30 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/7cerWedud2hNusv5xq85TGw5Ur-z5Bww