Personal growth: The power of the unsaid and the non-verbal April 6, 2017
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal growth.Tags: Confucius, David Hinton, inspiration, life, personal development potential, philosophy, spirituality
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By Dennis Mellersh
What is not said can have great power.
Similarly, a communicative force exists in the world of the inanimate and non-verbal.
Both circumstances can help smooth the path to self-actualization.
Eastern spiritual philosophies focused on self-improvement and personal enlightenment often emphasize the rewards of both personal silence and of observing that which is silent.
Consider this brief Confucius anecdote:
The Master said, “I’d love to just say nothing.”
“But if you say nothing,” said Adept Kung, how would we disciples hand down your teachings?”
“What has Heaven* ever said?” replied the Master. “The four seasons keep turning and the hundred things keep emerging – but what has Heaven ever said?” (1)
* The term Heaven in the writings of Confucius, as explained by David Hinton, refers to “Natural process. Or, more descriptively, the inevitable unfolding of things in the cosmological process.”
(1) Confucius, The Analects, in The Four Chinese Classics, translated, and with commentary by David Hinton, Counterpoint, Berkeley, California, 2013. http://www.counterpointpress.com
Personal growth: Self-empowerment through restrictions March 29, 2017
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal development.Tags: achieving goals, inspiration, life, personal development, philosophy, restrictions, self-denial, self-improvement
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By Dennis Mellersh
We usually think of restrictions as being negative, a process of undesirable denial.
But restrictions, or more precisely, self-imposed restrictions, can be beneficial – they have an upside.
Restrictions can help us achieve our personal development potential.
I was doing some research on religious practices when I came across an article in which the writer was making the point that his adhering to the restrictions of eating kosher helped to teach him self-discipline.
Scaled-out:
* By restricting our caloric intake, we can have a more desirable weight
* By restricting/moderating alcohol we can lower our blood pressure – the same with smoking
* By restricting distractions we can be more productive and achieve more in our personal growth goals.
* By restricting how much we complain, we can develop a more positive outlook.
This all seems like pretty obvious stuff, but perhaps it might show that if we look hard enough, there may be some self-improvement benefits in a variety of factors and situations that we normally regard as being highly negative because of their restrictive nature.
Personal Development Ideas 