March/April 2002
Feature Articles
Holistic Health Q & A
by Karen R. Raymund
Of PMS, premenopausal weight-gain,
and osteoporosis.
What is... Psychotherapy?
by Charles Larsen
Of various schools of psychotherapy
and what to expect and look for.
EnergyUpDate
by David Findlay
Articles on the theme "Good & Bad Habits"
Teaching Good Habits
by Barbara Bedingfield
A Waldorf teacher's viewpoint on how
adults should teach children the importance of good habits.
Mother Of All Bad Habits
by Aman Motwane
The habit of chasing illusions rather
than seeing the world as it is and dealing wih reality.
It's All Habit
by Patrick Plaskett
Using the mechanism of habits to get
the results in life that we want.
Improving Your Game
by Rev. Pat Cross
The effect habits have on our lives.
Using good habits to accentuate the positive.
The Fewer the Better
by Lisa Raphael
Letting go of habits and, instead,
living fully conscious of our thoughts, feelings and actions.
Changing From The Inside
by Rev. Linda Lou Kearns
Having the courage to be completely
honest, getting "out of the box."
Peace of Mind
by David Hunt
"A Course in Miracels" approach
to habits.
The Essence of a Habit
by Daniel DeFrank
How to replace negative habits with
life enhancing ones using the power of our thoughts.
Habits, Physical and Mental
by Betty Perry
Of behavior patterns and patterns of
thought. How they affect our lives.
Peace of Mind
by David Hunt
When you look at your goals and accomplishments have you ever wondered, "Is that all there is"? Does your list include a deep sense of inner peace? Make it a habit to choose peace of mind.
Years ago, I made lists of goals. Goals were absolutely necessary for success I was told. Goals are supposed to be some kind of magic button, aren't they? The popular success writers agree that we should all have goals, right? So I made goals. Lots of them. I had goals for business growth. Goals for improving my health. Goals for exercising more. Goals for lowering stress. You name it.
But no matter how many goals I set and achieved, something always seemed to remain lacking in my life. Though I had a healthy measure of business and personal success, I was haunted by a sense of longing from deep inside. What I longed for, I did not know. As I achieved one goal I would simply set a higher goal the next time. And higher the next. Certainly there was some sense of satisfaction in reaching my goals. But getting there never gave me the sense of deep contentment that I sought. Something remained missing. Have you ever felt that way?
Often, my goals would change. Or I would set impractical goals that were doomed to failure from the beginning, such as, "I want to be rich and famous by next year." Sometimes my goals conflicted. For example, I might say, "I'll relax at the beach next weekend." And at the same time I had another goal to wallpaper my kitchen and bathroom before Monday. See how I caused my stress? Or, I would set a New Year's resolution to save more money. Then spend money at my usual rate.
One thing for certain, I knew I wanted to be happy. But instead of bringing me happiness, my goals seemed to only add to my malaise. I questioned, would financial riches ever do it for me? Would I really be happy if I were CEO of a big company?
One day I was looking in the mirror, noticing some new gray hair, when suddenly I asked myself, "If I could attain only one goal this year, would I actually choose money, power, fame?" Things like that had not made me happy in the past. Would those things make me happy ever? Then, just as another gray hair came to view, there also came a distressing thought, "If I keep going in this same direction I might never find the source of deep contentment that I want." I had tried many things. It was clear I needed a whole new way of perceiving success if I were ever going to reach the level of happiness and peace that I sought.
So I asked God for a miraculous change in perception. "Dave, what do you want above all else?" I kept asking myself, in the days and weeks that followed, and, "What is really important?"
Then one day this thought dawned on me: If I could have one thing, above all else I would choose peace of mind. I wouldn't care what kind of car I drove if I had peace of mind. I could be rich and famous, or not, if I had peace of mind. I could be a CEO or stay where I was. Suddenly it made sense to me that all of the beliefs that I held, and all of the stuff I had built my life upon all of it was much less important than peace of mind. Gandhi had no luxuries but he had peace of mind. Nelson Mandella was locked in prison for 18 years but he kept his sanity with peace of mind. At last, it was perfectly clear to me. If I could have inner peace, I would have the most important thing in the world.
Soon, as I began to make it a habit to choose inner peace in every situation, my life became simpler. I felt that a great weight had been lifted off of me. When questions arose, such as, "Should I take a raise in pay and transfer up north?" I needed only ask myself, "Would that add to my inner peace?" "No!" Or when I was faced with some big car repairs, I thought, "Do I really need to buy a new car right now?" My answer came quickly that payments would add more stress. No peace there! I was amazed at how easily making decisions became. I had asked for and been given the miraculous change in perception that I asked for.
Try it! A Course in Miracles would say: with peace as our single goal, everything else just falls into place.
Today, my only goal is peace. The world can change all around me and it's OK. My new habit is to remain focused on my primary goal, inner peace. And when I recall the stressful way I used to live, I know this new perception is, for me, a miracle! Thank you God.
David Hunt has been leading A Course in Miracles study
groups in Clearwater FL for 10 years. (727) 443-0959. D-H@ij.net.
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