“The modalities of awakened doing are acceptance, enjoyment, and enthusiasm.
Each one represents a certain vibrational frequency of consciousness.
You need to be vigilant to make sure that one of them operates whenever you are engaged in doing anything at all – from the most simple task to the most complex.”
~ Eckhart Tolle.
In his teachings Eckhart Tolle addresses the idea of the background of unhappiness as a deep rooted ‘state of being’ people experience almost constantly. It is a general feeling of discontentment, resentment, and irritation that is present in the background as they go through their everyday lives.
This feeling is fed by unconscious thoughts that go along the following lines:
‘There is something that needs to happen in my life before I can be at peace (happy, fulfilled, etc.).
And I resent that it hasn’t happened yet’. or -
‘Something happened in the past that should not have happened and I resent that. If that hadn’t happened I would be at peace now’.
Most of us constantly tell ourselves stories of how we will be at peace at some point in the future once a certain Event happens, or when we Reach some Goal we have set for ourselves, or if we Become ‘This or That’.
Sometimes the story is about how we will never achieve peace of mind or happiness because of something that happened in the past.
Tolle goes on to say that in order to be happy we have to - Make Peace with the Present Moment.
Along these lines he goes on to describe the observation of the ‘two Ducks in a Pond’ Ritual following a fight:
“...They separate and float off in opposite directions.
Then they each flap their wings vigorously a few times to get rid of the surplus energy that built up during the fight.
After flapping their wings, they float on peacefully, as if nothing had happened’.
However, if the duck had a human mind, it would probably tell itself a story such as the following:
...“I can’t believe he just did that. Who does he think he is?
The nerve . . . he has absolutely no consideration of others.
He thinks he owns this pond.
I’m sure he’s already plotting some new way to annoy me.
He’s not getting away with it; I’ll show him.”...
The lesson we can learn from ‘the Ducks Tale’ is this: flap your wings - That is, shake off the surplus energy you feel after a negative encounter. Become AWARE of the Stories you are constantly telling yourself in the back of your mind of -
‘why you cannot be happy now’.
Let go of the stories you are telling yourself, and return to the only place of power:
The Present Moment.
DECIDE that being Happy and at Peace – is more important to you than being right.
In addition, and even more important so, you need to become attentive to Your Thoughts and Emotions.
Ask yourself constantly:
“Is there any negativity in me at this present moment?”
That does not mean judging yourself in any way.
Instead it does mean you are becoming discerning about what you choose to ‘Plant and Let Grow’ in your ‘Inner Environment’.
If you are walking around with a thought pattern that you are ‘worthless, unlovable, and probably will never succeed - you can now recognize that, for what it is and come to a choice as in a turning point to accept or replace it with a more nourishing Belief.
All of our Thoughts and Beliefs, no matter how good or seemingly bad, are ‘just beliefs’.
They are neither true nor false necessarily.
They are just our Perception of Reality.
Furthermore -
watch out for thoughts that attempt to explain or justify this unhappiness but in reality cause it.
Once you become aware of a negative state within yourself you realize that you are not those thoughts, emotions, or reactions.
Instead, you are the conscious presence that is witnessing those states.
And at that moment — in which you create a disconnection between your thoughts and yourself – you can CHOOSE to simply change the Thoughts and Beliefs that are causing the background unhappiness in your life.
It is impossible for you to be angry and laugh at the same time.
Anger and laughter are mutually exclusive, and You Have the Power to Choose either!