Renew Your Mind!!

"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment"
For Buddha's followers out there, this is a famous quote from him thousands of years ago and still holds true today.

I have been thinking of writing about this subject for quite sometime because this is the subject that has transformed my life completely to a different direction.  The road leading my life now is peaceful, joyful, and loving with a sound mind and self-control.  Who doesn't want this kind of life? Some seek God for help to become more like him.  I am not talking about this kind of transformation or religion. Because if you don't believe in a God (we all come with different religious backgrounds), then what will happen to our life?.I am not trying to be a Zen master either, but by practicing and focusing on what really matters every day of my life, I have determined that happiness is so simple and reachable, and I would love to share this journey with you.

I gave my blog the title-- Enjoy a Simple Life. What does a simple life look like? Let's all get back to the basics. Renewing your mind is a role to play in a major part of this transformation. Even though I am a Buddhist, I used to live my life not like a Buddhist at all. I wanted more than I needed, wearing designer clothes, eating in 5-star restaurants, and the last thing I did was build my dream home.  Yes, my dream home was  built in 2007. I started this project, and, believe me, I loved every minute of it. But if I could go back to redo it, my dream home would be half of the square footage (furnishing and cleaning the house would be much simpler). However, going back to basics is making things simpler or more efficient and less complex. In our life, we waste so much of our energy on things of little matter at all. We are afraid of people judging us for the way we look, become angry on the highway when someone cuts in front of us, or argue with others about politics and religion. It is like a fire that explodes out of your belly. When this fire starts to explode, you have to make a strong effort to neutralize the fire before it hits your mouth, and you start cursing.  The reason your bad temper is triggered so easily is because you are weak in self-control. To remove this bad habit out of yourself, it is necessary to start renewing your mind by getting rid of negative qualities, such as being too critical or judgmental of others, maintaining an unforgiving spirit, or demonstrating too much pride and arrogance. I call all these bad toxins that will make your life miserable, and you feel like the world is against you. It is all in your mind. With just a few simple steps, you can renew your mind and become a whole new you!!

One big thing I got rid of was a commitment that I do out of obligation. This will be the first and an important part to renew your mind. For example many of us have been in numerous life situations where we have knocked ourselves out trying to please someone by being a selfless person. We emotional gave and gave until we feel deflated, just to seek approval for our heroic deed but instead feel disappointed when we realize that we are so unappreciated. Even worse in some cases is that our loved one misunderstood and blamed us for imposing our views into their life (l did learn this lesson big time).

I cleaned up all of my old things that I don't use any more and dropped them off at a Goodwill. As the old saying goes, "Someone's trash will be someone else's treasure".

I think  we should include exercise  in our life as part of healthy living. You don't need a fitness club or any expensive exercise equipment to complete this task. Walking is the most effective exercise that we should include as a daily routine.  Nothing can as refreshing as feeling the soft breeze on your face and the sound of chirping birds to keep you in touch with nature.

Reduce the time to watching TV. Studies show that TV viewing is associated with unhealthy eating, setting the stage for gaining weight, diabetes, heart attack and a short-life. Find a real hobby that you enjoy and start focusing on that.

If you have time, learn how to cook at home. First, you know what you put in your recipes, using fresh ingredients and avoiding all the chemicals that factories use when to preserve food. You will be on the right path of healthy living. Second, you definitely save money. For years, I learned cooking and now understand that to achieve this skill it is necessary to make cooking more fun and less complex. I will  share with you all the recipes that I have been tested in the most simplest way possible.

Let's start renewing our mind by looking to appreciate what God or fate has given us--the green earth.

Let go of the ugly past that is eating our souls and stop blaming someone else for our own mistakes.  As the famous author, Mark Twain, said, " Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first,".
So for now, until we see each other again.