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.
The Fewer the Better
by Lisa Raphael
A habit has been defined as an activity that is done so often it is done without thinking. By that definition, can there be such a thing as a good habit? What could be good about acting without thinking?
"I have so much to do and remember," you might say, "I can't possibly think about every action in my life. What about good habits like washing my hands, brushing my teeth, balancing my check book, or making sure that the coffee is turned off before leaving in the morning?"
But are these habits? Do you really do these things without thinking, or are these actions that you regularly think about doing? Consider for a moment all the things you do WITHOUT thinking every day: the absent-minded nibbles, coffees, drinks, cigarettes, the cars whose signals you overlook, the thoughtless asides you hope nobody hears. THESE are habits, and they can be destructive.
When I first became conscious of all the actions involved in my day getting out of bed, dressing, making coffee, driving my car etc. it felt overwhelming! I am very dependent on habit while driving my car, for instance, even without the radio or a tape playing. On the other hand, I do not consider myself a good driver. When I remember to attend to my driving, it is safer for everyone on the road! Likewise, when I attend to everything I put into my mouth, my weight stops creeping up. It is not so much what or how much we eat but the habit of eating without thinking that brings about most weight problems a secret closely guarded by the multi-million-dollar diet industry. If each of us were to become fully conscious, to think about what we take in every day food, water, air and information, as well as what we let out: waste, excess, attitudes and opinions society would naturally balance itself.
As the daughter of German-speaking parents in an English-speaking country, I was often mortified by my mother's habit of making loud, thoughtless comments about people's looks or mannerisms. How did she know no-one understood what she was saying? The three young truckers who verbally undressed me and my hitchhiking companion at a remote truck stop in the Australian outback didn't think we understood German either. We pretended not to understand until it was time to leave; then left them red with embarrassment as I bid them a polite goodbye in perfect German. Without the habit of speaking without thinking, there would be fewer wars and conflicts. Without the habit of acting without thinking, there would be no addictions.
It is imperative at this time in history that we bring ourselves, our families, our society, and our leaders into full consciousness of the consequences of our thoughts, feelings and actions.
Habits are about passivity and dependence. We have become passive consumers of all kinds of products material and immaterial and dependent on others for almost everything. One of the positive effects of preparing for Y2K for those of us who took it seriously was becoming aware of our dependencies in the material world, and taking measures towards being independent of the conveniences and services we take for granted. More recently, the attacks of September 11 alerted us to become more mindful and responsible for our day-to-day choices. Nevertheless, most of us habitually take in whatever the marketers and "spin doctors" put in front of us without questioning. We spend hours glued to the television tube an action (or inaction) that is in itself hypnotic and habit-forming; invest in all kinds of gadgets, drugs and belief systems that promise to make us beautiful, healthy and happy; and blindly accept the accounts of personal, social and political events reported in the mass media. For most of us, it is a habit to look to Big Brother to take care of our security, rather than to consider what our own full attention and consciousness could contribute to national and international peace and security.
The good news is that letting go of our habits and waking up to our responsibility for everything that happens in our lives makes an enormous difference. Every action feels fresh, new, exciting. Try really tasting an apple, really smelling the sea breeze, really listening to the sounds of the birds. When we remember to greet or smile at those who serve us or pass us on the street, it can make a big difference in their attitude, and help bring them out of the habit of not thinking as well. It is no coincidence, I believe, that The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle, has become a bestseller. When we fully attend to the present in all its aspects, we learn to trust the information that comes from our own inner knowing. And when we trust our own inner knowing whether it is how the weather feels outside rather than what the official weather forecasters say, or an alternative perspective on current events to the one reported in the corporate controlled mass media we have the freedom and power to transform the world.
So maybe there is a good habit, after all.
The habit of being fully conscious.
Now.
Lisa Raphael is a spiritual teacher, Licensed Mental Health
Counselor, and author who offers transformational holistic healing consultations
by donation. FL (727) 822 0489. www.lisaraphael.com
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