Living a Life of Harmony

7 simple yet powerful guidelines provide a compass for navigating life harmoniously, cultivating a peaceful mind, and spreading kindness

• Offers 7 guidelines for living a life of harmony and peace based on existing guidance from Buddhism, Yoga, and other great teachings, integrated and updated for the modern world

• Explains how to implement the guidelines in daily life on a practical basis, supported by real-life examples and practices

• Illustrates in-depth how and why each of these guidelines hold value and how they provide a set of tools to help us deal with life's ups and downs more skillfully, mindfully, and compassionately

In our very busy world it's easy to get lost in the details and demands of everyday living. Fatigued and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information, the myriad of choices our technologically advanced communication era offers, we lose sight of what life is all about. How do we find balance and harmony in this overloaded world? And how do we navigate life in tune with our soul as well as with modern society?

As author Darren Cockburn explains, we are all part of one big universal process that encompasses and connects everything--every thought, emotion, action, nature, all there is. Over the centuries, religions and philosophies have provided direction on how to act ethically and in accordance with this process, yet in our modern world, these "rules" may seem outdated or too rigid. Integrating and updating existing guidance from Buddhism, Yoga, and other great teachings, the author offers 7 guidelines for living a life of harmony and balance: honor the body, bring awareness and acceptance into every moment, act with kindness, understand the truth and communicate it skillfully, do only what needs to be done, harmoniously obtain and retain only what you need, and apply the guidelines to your digital device usage. He illustrates how and why each of these guidelines hold value, revealing their interconnections, and explains how to implement them practically in daily life, sharing real-life examples as well as practices to support each guideline and deepen your existing spiritual practice.

The author explores how the 7 easy-to-practice guidelines help us gain a deeper understanding of the universal process of life, as well as provide a set of tools to help us deal with life's ups and downs more skillfully. They enable us to face life empowered and confident, peacefully observe and accept what life presents us with, cultivate compassion and kindness, as well as spread mindfulness to those around us. Practiced together, these guidelines provide a simple yet powerful compass to guide you to a peaceful mind and harmonious living, much needed in today's world.

Autorentext

Darren Cockburn has been practicing meditation and mindfulness for over 20 years, studying with a range of teachers from different religions. As a coach and teacher, he has supported hundreds of people in meditation, mindfulness, and finding a connection to spirituality, with a focus on applying spiritual teachings in everyday life to cultivate a peaceful mind. Darren also works as a business consultant supporting organizations with strategy formulation, interim leadership roles, and transformation programs. He lives in Bournemouth, England.

Inhalt

Introduction
The Guidelines
Personal journey
Creating 'Living a Life of Harmony'
Points for Reflection

1 The Process
What is The Process?
Why is understanding The Process important?
Who owns The Process?
Is The Process orderly?
Who am I?
Am I dreaming this?
Obvious and subtle processes
Reflecting on The Process
How does The Process relate to being present?
How does The Process relate to God?
Spirituality & science
Am I making my own choices?
Points for Reflection

2 The Guidelines
How The Guidelines were created
The Guidelines Progress rather than perfection
Decision making & conflicts
Teaching and groups
The Process & The Guidelines in action
Points for Reflection

3 Honor the Body
Honoring the body
Diet
Relaxation
Sleep
Physical activity
Acceptance of the body
Energy
Sexuality
Connections with other guidelines
Points for Reflection

4 Be Present, Bringing Awareness and Acceptance into Every Moment
Relationship with mindfulness and Mindfulness+
The Two Modes of The Mind
The Four A's
Dealing with emotional pain
The pain-body
Relative acceptance
Absolute acceptance
Identifications and the ego
Becoming more aware
Cultivating awareness
Patience with practice
Awareness during sleep
Connections with other guidelines
Points for Reflection

5 Act with Kindness, Considering Everyone and Everything
The source of kindness
The Selfishness / Altruism Intention Scale
Applying the guideline
Being considerate
Being friendly
Being generous
Six ways to cultivate kindness
Connections with other guidelines
Points for Reflection

6 Understand the Truth, Communicating It Selectively and Skillfully
Feeling the truth
Determining the truth
Being honest with yourself
Communicating kindly and truthfully
Selective communication Harmonious communication
Helping others find the truth through true listening
Skillful self-disclosure Connections with other guidelines
Points for Reflection

7 Do Only What Needs to Be Done
The global epidemic of being busy
Reviewing your activities
Aligning new activities
Prioritizing your activities whilst being present
Karma yoga
Is this really necessary?
Treading your own unique path
Working within The Guidelines
Communication and thoughts
Consideration of others
Connections with other guidelines
Points for Reflection

8 Harmoniously Obtain and Retain Only What You Need Reviewing your items
Harmoniously obtain only what you need
obtaining things for pleasure
Simplicity and spaciousness
Greed
Connections with other guidelines
Points for Reflection

9 Apply The Guidelines to Your Digital Device Usage
Only use a device when it's really needed
Stay mindful during device usage
Be kind to your body during device usage
Communicate selectively, truthfully and skillfully during device usage Have time away from your devices every day
Take opportunities for real human contact
Accepting that digital device usage is a part of life
Connections with other guidelines
Points for Reflection

10 Building & Structuring Your Practice
Benefits and measures
Three areas of practice
Opportunities for practice
General challenges and questions
The link to spiritual awakening
Points for Reflection

Afterword

Notes

Bibliography

About the Author