Evolved Inspired

Evolved Inspired

Guard the quality of your thoughts

The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts Marcus Aurelius Thoughts such as anger, resentment and frustration set our mental filter, distorting our perception and increasing whatever feeling is boiling away. That moment of road-rage is caused by a distorted view of an innocuous event, but we were already angry or frustrated, our perception makes the action of the other driver a personal attack ‘how dare they’.

Posted by Evolved Inspired on Friday, April 12, 2019

Goals and Values

If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favorable Seneca As events unfold without a direction or goal, how would we know if we are moving forwards, backwards or sideways? Seneca reminds us that without a goal we have no ability to assess the direction we are heading. Perhaps we will unwisely judge events emotively without the ability to assess them wisely. With our goals in mind we should strive to achieve them with wisdom, justice, courage and fortitude (self-discipline).

Posted by Evolved Inspired on Friday, April 12, 2019

Ancient advice for improving Bloggers

Reading How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson and came across this advice from Diogenes which resonated with me as I continue on my journey to become a better writer. You can also check my fuller review of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor Correct grammar and good vocabulary Clarity of expression, making ideas easily understood Conciseness, employing no more words than necessary Appropriateness of style, suited to the subject matter and apparently also to the audience Distinction, or artistic excellence, and the avoidance of vulgarity How to Think like a Roman Emperor, Donald Robertson

Posted by Evolved Inspired on Saturday, April 6, 2019

Your story

The mind is everything. What we think, we become Buddha Today’s quote touches on both the power and the slipperiness of the mind. Our minds constantly create stories, backstories and predicted outcomes. These stories can work for us, or work against us. Ahead of a presentation does your mind predict a calm engaging smooth presentation or a nervous presentation to a crowd of haters? Both are true, but it is our mind that will create either a calm in-control mindset where you can deal with what arises or an anxious and panicky experience.

Posted by Evolved Inspired on Saturday, April 6, 2019

Nobler than Mick

Seeing a recent Tweet from Mick Jagger brought a smile to my face as I recall a great first introduction to The Four Noble Truths. Without the right understanding, Buddhism can be interpreted in a very negative and incapacitating way. Its worth remembering the story is Buddha achieved enlightenment and wanted to share the path, so a positive interpretation is good to hold. What are the Four Noble Truths? The Four Noble Truths are regarded as the first teachings from Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) after his enlightenment.

Posted by Evolved Inspired on Saturday, March 30, 2019

Humor

This particular Alan Watts quote is close to me, it is far too easy to take life too seriously, perhaps we should approach each situation with curiosity and humour. Often we perceive the wise as serious, the wisest people I have encountered have the greatest sense of humour to rival their wisdom. Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun Alan Watts

Posted by Evolved Inspired on Saturday, March 30, 2019

Listening

A reminder that often listening, observing and contemplating is the correct action. How are we to learn if we always speak. When situations arise, often the ‘season for silence’ allows us to gather the right amount of knowledge and take stock of our emotive responses to respond with wisdom. It is a great thing to know the season for speech and the season for silence – Seneca We have been given two ears and but a single mouth in order that we may hear more and talk less.

Posted by Evolved Inspired on Saturday, March 30, 2019