constant focus practice and discipline

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By: Hermas Lassalle

The key to developing awareness is found by directing your attention inward. If you strive to be yourself and honor your true nature, then each passing moment will bring you increased awareness and growth. Conversely, denying your true nature will only encourage unconscious judgments and behavior. 

We are all habitual creatures and are constantly shaping ourselves over time. Much like a child who is just learning to walk and who may spend weeks just getting to a standing position but then falling down immediately. The child does not judge himself for falling down. And neither should we. He’ll get up again, perhaps even fall down again, until the one day when voila! he will be walking steadily at last.

A constant focus will make anything grow. The universe responds to our requests when made through a continuous and energized thought-process. Over time, those thoughts become realities but it does take time and it takes constant focus in order to turn “thought energy” into matter or results. Consider all the habits you have that are not necessarily in alignment with your true nature. Also, consider how often you repeat them. It is important to recognize that we are in constant training and when we exercise the faculties that lead us to an unwanted end, all we really need to do to realign ourselves is develop and practice a new set of habits. 

Imagine designing a habit that followed your rhythm, your true path; one that you followed every day. Imagine that by force of a regular practice, this habit became a stronger, more certain way of leading through your true path in life. Any successful athlete will tell you that, “to win, you need to put in the time to practice.” One good exercise to practice is to listen to and follow your intuition. Whenever you don’t follow your intuition, just make a note to follow it next time. The more you practice the desire to follow your intuition, the more you will follow it, rather than attaching yourself to the thought, “I should follow my intuition” which invariably results your inability to adopt this new practice.

The power of the words we use to facilitate our practice plays a big part in our ability to follow-through with things. Words like should, could and would only prolong our ability to actually get down to doing the practice as they have a basis in someone’s authority. Simply stating that you will do it over and over will positively enforce the action and will allow you to do so without any judgment.

This discipline will grow on you if you practice it free of any judgment. The judgments we impose on ourselves can shut us down. Rather than motivating self, all we are doing by judging ourselves is inhibiting our own progress. Consider the ways you can structure your day to allow for practice? Think about all the opportunities that you have to create a practice out of your desire to “inhabit” a new way of being. Start small and let it build. 

Bringing awareness to your practice. You may not be aware but there are many actions you take on a daily basis that are brought about by constant practice.  When you lose the rhythm, just pick it up again and do so without any judgment. We often chastise ourselves for not being disciplined and in so doing, we lose all the work we’ve done in getting disciplined in the first place. It takes work overtime to achieve new habits. The dedication that you apply and the commitment you make to yourself will allow you to simply pick up where you let off. Over time, you will reach your goal.

Your practice is between you and yourself, no one else. Think of it this way, looking at the long-term vision of what it is that you wish to achieve will help you to focus on the mastery of every movement that will carry you to your goal. We often feel that we fall short in the moment but over time, the accumulation of those moments will add up to your goal if you keep taking action, keep practicing and doing so without judgment. 

If you feel like giving up because you keep dropping the ball, just keep going. You will get there.  Be at peace with the knowledge that intention and focus you will allow you to step into your true being. As we find the discipline, so we become the disciple of our own greater self.

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