Resolutions: practices for breaking old habits
- Bhakti Prem
- Jan 21, 2017
- 3 min read
Happy New Year!
The arrival of a new year brings with it the promise of a fresh start. “Out with the old and in with the new!"
Whenever we begin anew, whether it is a new project, a new opportunity, a new frame of mind, a new relationship and so forth, there is a preparation and clearing process involved. This applies to tangible physical objects, like getting a new sofa and intangibles, like breaking a bad habit and developing a new healthy habit.
There's preparation involved before setting up a new sofa: you have to know what you want, do some research, make sure the new one is compatible with your décor etc. Then the old sofa one must be removed, the area cleaned, maybe other furniture rearranged or discarded, etc. before the new sofa arrives. The same thing happens when wanting to install a new habit or behavior. The old ways of thinking and doing things have to be compatible with existing beliefs and behaviors, or let go of in order to accommodate the new.
The beginning of a new year often is a time for making resolutions and setting goals. To actualize any kind of change in our health, attitudes, beliefs, demeanor or life circumstances there is a purification process involved, as well as creating an environment of internal harmony and integration in which our resolutions will flourish.
Radical Relaxation is totally in tune with the promise of a fresh start and the possibility to begin anew. There are five major components to the Radical Relaxation process:
1. Deep Relaxation
2. Purification
3. Objectivity
4. Integration
5. Quietude
For the purposes of this discussion we’ll focus on deep relaxation, purfication and integration – harmony of thoughts, believes, emotions, attitudes and behaviors.
The deep relaxation of Radical Relaxation opens the doorway to the subtle body – sukshma sharira which contains the subconscious. All our samskaras – imprints from the past [fears, beliefs, habits, attitudes, concepts, etc.] are held in the subconscious.
These imprints are a dynamic force in our psychic life, a part of the mind of which one is not fully aware, but which influences our actions, thoughts, beliefs and feelings. The samskaras propel consciousness and the body, mind and emotions into action.
This is a staggering concept. It is these impressions which dictate the effectiveness of our resolutions. The reason why New Year's resolutions so often fall flat is because they are in conflict with our subconscious imprints. For a resolution to be actualized it must be integrated at all levels of our being.
It is through deeper states of relaxation and integration that one is able to access the subtle body and loosen the tangled knots of samskaras. They cannot be mentally removed or let go of by sheer will [unfortunately!].
In Radical Relaxation as you drop into deeper and deeper levels of relaxation, you not only access the more and more subtle layers of your being, but purification of the subtle body and samskaras occurs. This creates a fertile environment of integration in which new seeds or resolutions may be sown and given a proper chance to be nurtured and actualized.
It is a systematic and natural letting go of the old to make room for and welcome the new.
The mind with its churning of thoughts, opinions, judgements, analysis, and biases recedes into the background, while objectivity, bliss and quietude become the focus of your consciousness. These new experiences also make imprints on your subconscious, but these are healthy and helpful imprints that align you with your true nature and the timeless realm of limitless possibility.
Our inability to learn, to release old habits, or to free ourselves from fears and limitations is not because we are not intelligent or using our minds properly, it is because we have not yet trained ourselves to let go and drop into deep relaxation in order to find peace, quiet and to unleash our fullest potential. Radical Relaxation is just such a training.
Commentaires