Subject: Lifescope TIPs & QUIPs [21] "Step Out of the Rush"

This week's idea, "not rushing," is properly encouraged by the size of
this e-mail. You will find this issue to be about half the usual length,
so you can take your time reading it. I hope you'll grab the chance to
luxuriate with these extra found moments, and realize that you are
continually choosing the quality of your moments by the conscious
anticipation you give them. When you're ready, read on. -- Lee Lukehart

TIPs & QUIPs, the free occasional email of helpful hints and quotes (and
sometimes challenging suggestions) for getting the most from life.

In this issue:
     *** WiseWords
     *** This Issue's Theme
     *** Suggested Resources
     *** Thrive On! Recommended Site


*** WiseWords ***                                     [TOP]
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"Whoever is in a hurry shows that 
 the thing he is about is too big for him."
  --Philip Chesterfield
  
"Whoever admits that he is too busy to improve his methods has 
 acknowledged himself to be at the end of his rope. 
 And that is always the saddest predicament which anyone can get into."
  --J. Ogden Armour
 
"I am never in a hurry. I move quickly when needed, but I don't rush."
  --Al E. Gogh

(For a collection of some of our favorite WiseWords, see our web page at
<http://www.lifescope.com/pages/WiseWords.html>.)


*** This issue's theme:  STEPPING OUT OF THE RUSH              [TOP]
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(excerpted from "Designing Your Own Destiny")

Exercise 4: STEP OUT OF THE RUSH

"Even at a million miles an hour, 
 anxious thoughts and feelings STILL TAKE YOU NOWHERE."

THE ROAD BEFORE YOU
Before you can step out of the rush and into your own life, you must
first see that while anxious, hurried feelings often lend a temporary
sense of self-importance, these same racing emotions actually rob you of
the power you need to be self-commanding. A brief investigation will
confirm this finding.

Self-command begins with being able to choose your own direction in
life. And whether you're caught in the raging current of a white-water
river, or being swept along by a flood of invisible thoughts and
feelings, one fact remains: Like it or not, you're going where that
current goes. You have no real choices as long as you're under its
influence. That's why learning to step out of the rush is the same as
learning how to step into your own life.

Allow the exercise described below to show you that your Real Nature
never feels the need to rush any more than an eagle would try to swim
across a lake to get to the other side.

Here's the challenge: Rushing thoughts and anxious feelings are
invisible to you because each time they begin to race, you START TO RUN
WITH THEM. And after so many years of being carried along in this
psychic slipstream, you've come to believe that either you are these
surging inner currents or that their power is yours. Neither case is
true. You are not these waves of thought any more than a cresting tide
is the entire ocean.

Author Vernon Howard offers this emphatic instruction to help strengthen
our resolve to stop this mad dash to nowhere: 
   "Slow down. Relax. Dare to deliberately defy those inner screams
    that demand you rush nervously around. Instead, obey another quiet
    voice that assures you that the casual life is the truly powerful
    and efficient life."

CHOOSING YOUR NEW DIRECTION
Beginning this very moment, intentionally separate yourself from any
rushing inner condition by voluntarily stepping out of it. How can this
be done? PURPOSEFULLY SLOW YOURSELF DOWN by acting to consciously reduce
your usual speed. 
Here are several suggested ways to guarantee a good start:

1. At 50 percent your normal gait, walk over to get your cup of coffee.

2. Try reaching for the phone, your glass of water or your pen at 75
   percent your normal speed.

3. Drive the speed limit (at all times) but especially when late for an
   appointment.

One practice I find particularly profitable, at home and in business, is
to pause a few seconds BEFORE I answer someone's question. This special
conscious pause for self-awakening is invaluable because, as the old
saying goes, "Only fools rush in!" Whatever the occasion may be, choose
the time and place to slow down, and practice stepping out of the rush.

YOUR HIGHER DESTINY
Here's the secret behind how this unique exercise delivers new
self-command: Slowing down helps you become aware of yourself in a new
and higher way by creating contrast between your usual speed through
life and your now selectively slower one.

This enhanced self-awareness empowers you to step out of the rush of
your own surging thoughts and feelings BY MAKING YOU CONSCIOUS of their
flooding presence within you as being SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T BELONG TO
YOU. Once this is clear, then you can choose your own direction in life.
Step out of the rush by slowing down. Do it Now.

SUMMARY
If you want to find what is Timeless, dare to live as though you have
all the time in the world.

--from "Designing Your Own Destiny" by Guy Finley 
   (excerpted with permission)


*** Suggested Resources ***                                       [TOP]
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FLOW By Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pron. mee' hi chick sent' me hi)
Now a classic on the psychology of optimal experience and how to use it
to feel strong, alert, in effortless control and at the top of your
abilities. It is a rewarding, utterly enjoyable peak experience which
imparts meaning to living. Time stands still when you go with the flow.
   (softcover book, 303pp) Item# D6230-BK
      SRP$13.00 -- Your Price (see link for special price)
Buy this title online now.

   (2 audiotapes) Item# D6230-AT
      SRP$16.00 -- Your Price (see link for special price)
Buy this title online now.

*** Your satisfaction is absolutely assured with our RISK-FREE Guarantee!


*** Thrive On! Recommended Site ***                              [TOP]
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FROM MEDICATION TO MEDITATION by Osho
<http://www.osho.com/news/med2med/m2m083.htm>
This link is an essay on Aging, which in my mind is seamlessly connected
to 'not rushing'. The passage of time is one and the same, at any speed.

And where else to learn practice the fine art of 'not rushing' than from
the world's largest meditation resort. "Set on 31 acres of beautifully
landscaped grounds in Pune (Poona), India, Osho Commune International
creates a climate which nourishes the growth of a New Person, capable of
living in harmony with oneself, with others, and with the world. Here
you will find German efficiency alongside the Indian appreciation of the
timeless, Swiss cleanliness enhanced by Japanese aesthetics, English
reserve tickled by Brazilian exuberance, and American optimism sharing a
late-night conversation with Russian soul. A team of Australians has
worked with a local farmer to produce fresh, organically grown
vegetables to complement the culinary masterpieces of the Italians, and
the African drumming you hear today coming from Buddha Auditorium is
likely to be followed by Middle Eastern belly-dance rhythms tomorrow.

"The most commonly spoken language here is laughter, although tears are
also perfectly acceptable, regardless of gender or national origin. The
second language is a simple and poetic English, softened and made
musical by all the accents in which it is spoken. Nearly everyone after
a while picks up the characteristic Indian waggle of the head, which can
mean everything and nothing at once. But whatever your mother tongue,
you will be certain to find someone else who speaks it here."


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