愛薇塔的英文閱讀筆記

上了英文字幕的影片版會在Youtube頻道唷Follow我的Youtube頻道: The Reader Evita <---直接點Follow我的臉書專頁:https://www.facebook.com/EvitaELCYT收看影片版: https://youtu.be/qUqpmoqhf5Y小額贊助支持本節目： https://open.firstory.me/join/ckqovuxw9e42r0818h8tmvk4n留言告訴我你對這一集的想法： https://open.firstory.me/user/ckqovuxw9e42r0818h8tmvk4n/comments?本集內容(Chapter 6 Routine p.124-126)“It wasn’t always that easy. ”“Every morning my brain, desperate to remain shut down just a little bit longer, thought of a different excuse for why I should sleep in.”“But I pushed myself to adopt this new routine because I was committed to the process.”“The fact that it was hard was an important part of the journey.”“Eventually, I learned the one infallible trick to successfully getting up earlier: I had to go to sleep earlier.”“I’d spent my entire life pushing the limits of each day, sacrificing tomorrow because I didn’t want to miss out on today.”“But once I finally let that go and started going to sleep earlier, waking up at four became easier and easier.”“And as it became easier, I found that I could do it without the help of anyone or anything besides my own body and the natural world around it.”“This was a revelatory experience for me.”revelatory (adj.) 啟示性的“At last I came to understand the value in it.”“The point of waking up early wasn’t to torture us - it was to start the day off with peace and tranquility.”“Birds. A gong. The sound of flowing water.”“And our morning routine never varied.”“The simplicity and structure of ashram mornings spared us from the stressful complexity of decisions and variation.”“Starting our days so simply was like a mental shower.”“It cleansed us of the challenges of the previous day, giving us the space and energy to transform greed into generosity, anger into compassion, loss into love.”“Finally, it gave us resolve, a sense of purpose to carry out into the day.”“Unfortunately, our productivity-driven society encourages us to live like this.”“We tend to wear our ability to get by on little sleep as some sort of badge of honor that validates our work ethic.”“But what it is a profound failure of self-respect and of priorities.”“Then, once we’ve woken up after too little sleep, nearly a quarter of us do something else that starts us out on the second wrong foot of the day - we reach for our cell phones within one minute of waking up.”“A majority of people go from out cold to processing mountains of information within minutes every morning.”“There are only six cars that can go from zero to sixty miles per hour in under two seconds.”“Like most cars, humans are not built for that kind of sudden transition, mentally or physically.”“And the last thing you need to do when you’ve just woken up is to stumble straight into tragedy and pain courtesy of news headlines or friends venting about gridlock on their commute.”“Looking at your phone first thing in the morning is like inviting one hundred chatty strangers into your bedroom before you’ve showered, brushed your teeth, fixed your hair.”“Between the alarm clock and the world inside your phone, you’re immediately overwhelmed with stress, pressure, anxiety.”“Do you really expect yourself to emerge from that state and have a pleasant, productive day?”Powered by Firstory Hosting

小額贊助支持本節目： https://open.firstory.me/join/ckqovuxw9e42r0818h8tmvk4n留言告訴我你對這一集的想法： https://open.firstory.me/story/cl0pcqy5m162g0859yo88jvuf?m=comment上了英文字幕的影片版會在Youtube頻道唷Follow我的Youtube頻道: The Reader Evita <---直接點Follow我的臉書專頁:https://www.facebook.com/EvitaELCYT收看影片版:https://youtu.be/PY51-tDv3_MChapter 5 (p.93-94)“In fact, the asceticism was less a goal than it was a means to an end.”“Letting go opened our minds.”“It took some work for me to truly see all activities as equal.”“We were told to see society as the organs of a body.”“If something, like cleaning up after the cows, made me uncomfortable, instead of turning away, I pushed myself to understand the feelings that lay at the root of my discomfort.”“I quickly identified my hatred for some of the most mundane chores as an ego issue.”“I thought them a waste of time when I could be learning.”“Once I admitted this to myself, I could explore whether cleaning had anything to offer me.”“Could I learn from a mop?”“I observed that mop heads need to be completely flexible in order to get into every space and corner.”“Not every task is best served by something sturdy like a broom.”“To my monk mind, there was a worthwhile lesson in that: We need flexibility in order to access every corner of study and growth.”“Exploring our strengths and weaknesses in the self-contained universe of the ashram helped lead each of us to our dharma.”“My definition of dharma is an effort to make it practical to our lives today.”“I see dharma as the combination of Verna and seva.”“Think of Verna as passion and skills.”“Seva is understanding the world’s needs and selflessly serving others.”“When your natural talents and passions(verna) connect with what the universe needs(seva) and become your purpose, you are living in your dharma.”“When you spend your time and energy living in your dharma, you have the satisfaction of using your best abilities and doing something that matters to the world.”“Living in your dharma is a certain route to fulfillment.”“Two monks were washing their feet in a river when one of them realized that a scorpion was drowning in the water.”“He immediately picked it up and set it upon the bank.”“Though he was quick, the scorpion strung his hand.”“He resumed washing his feet.”“The other monk said, “Hey, look. That foolish fell right back in.””“The first monk leaned over, saved the scorpion again, and was again stung.”“The other monk asked him,“Brother, why do you rescue the scorpion when you know its nature is to sting?””“Because to save it is my nature.” The monk answered.“The monk is modeling humility - he does not value his own pain above the scorpion’s life.”“But the more relevant lesson here is that “to save”is so essential to this monk’s nature that he is compelled and content to do it even knowing the scorpion will sting him.”“The monk has so much faith in his dharma that he is willing to suffer in order to fulfill it.”p.97“Passion+ Expertise+ Usefulness = Dharma”“If we’re only excited when people say nice things about our work, it’s a sign that we’re not passionate about the work itself.”“If we indulge our interests and skills, but nobody responds to them, then our passion is without purpose.”“If either piece is missing , we’re not living our dharma.”p.98“There are two lies some of us hear when we’re growing up.”“You’ll never amount to anything.”“The second is “You can be anything you want to be.””“You can’t be anything you want.”“But you can be everything you are.”“A monk is a traveler, but the journey is inward, bringing us ever closer to our most authentic, confident, powerful self.”“If we keep our minds open and curious, our dharmas announce themselves.”OTHER PEOPLE’S DHARMA p.99“It’s better to do one’s own dharma imperfectly than to do another’s perfectly.”“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”p.100“Our society is set up around strengthening our weaknesses rather than building our strengths.”“It is trust in the limits of the self that makes us open and it is trust in the gifts of others that makes us secure.”“We come to realize that we don’t have to do everything, that we can’t do everything, that what I can’t do is someone else’s gift and responsibility…”“My limitations make space for the gifts of other people.”EMBRACE YOUR DHARMA p.117“Our heads might try to convince us that we’ve only ever made the best choices, but our true nature - our passion and purpose - isn’t in our heads, it’s in our hearts.”“In fact, our heads often get in the way of our passions.”“Here are some of the excuses that we use to close our minds:”“I’m too old to start my own business.”“It would be irresponsible of me to make this change.”“I can’t afford to do this.”“I already know that.”“I’ve always done it this way.”“That way won’t work for me.”“I don’t have time.”“Miracles happen when you embrace your dharma.”p.119“5. Positivity and growth”“Rejection and criticism don’t feel like assaults.”“They feel like information that we can accept or reject, depending on whether they help us move forward.”“If you’re reading this chapter thinking My manager needs to understand dharma - then she’ll give me the promotion, you’ve missed the point.”“Dharma protects those who protect it.”“Dharma brings you stability and peace.”“When we have the confidence to know where we thrive, we find opportunities to demonstrate that.”“This creates a feedback loop.”“When you safeguard your drama, you constantly strive to be in a place where you thrive.”“When you thrive, people notice, and you reap rewards that help you stay in your dharma.”“Your dharma protects your joy and your sense of purpose and helps you grow.”Powered by Firstory Hosting

小額贊助支持本節目： https://open.firstory.me/join/ckqovuxw9e42r0818h8tmvk4n留言告訴我你對這一集的想法： https://open.firstory.me/story/cl06uhcgi0bu508060an3vj30?m=comment上了英文字幕的影片版會在Youtube頻道唷Follow我的Youtube頻道: The Reader Evita <---直接點Follow我的臉書專頁:https://www.facebook.com/EvitaELCYT影片版:https://youtu.be/po7Sj_jGipQ(p.84)The physical nature of breathwork helps drive distractions from your head.Breathwork is calming, but it isn’t always easy.In fact, the challenges it brings are part of the process.I’m sitting on a floor of dried cow dung, which is surprisingly cool.It’s not comfortable, but it’s not difficult.My ankles hurt.God, I hate this, it’s so difficult.I can’t keep my back straight.God, I hate this, it’s so difficult.It’s been twenty minutes and I still haven’t cleared my mind.I’m supposed to bringing awareness to my breath, but I’m thinking about friends back in London.I sneak a peek at the monk closest to me.He’s sitting up so straight.He’s nailing this meditation thing.“Find your breath,” the leader is saying.I take a breath.It’s slow, beautiful, calm.(p.85)My first trip to the ashram was two weeks long, and I spent it meditating with Gauranga Das every morning for two hours.Sitting for that long, often much longer, is uncomfortable and tiring and sometimes boring.What’s worse, unwanted thoughts and feelings started drifting into my head.I worried that I wasn’t sitting properly and that the monks would judge me.In my frustration, my ego spoke up: I wanted to be the best meditator, the smartest person at the ashram, the one who made an impact.These weren’t monk-like thoughts.Meditation definitely wasn’t working the way I had thought it would.It was turning me into a bad person!———————————————————————————————————————————I was shocked and, to be frank, disappointed to see all the unresolved negativity inside myself.Meditation was only showing me ego, anger, lust, pain - things I didn’t like about myself.Was this a problem … or was it a point?———————————————————————————————————————————I asked my teachers if I was doing something wrong.One of them told me that every year the monks meticulously cleaned the Gundicha Temple in Puri, checking every corner, and that when they did it, they visualized cleaning their hearts.He said that by the time they finished, the temple was already getting dirty again.That, he explained, is the feeling of meditation.It was work, and it never done.———————————————————————————————————————————Meditation wasn’t making me a bad person.I had to face an equally unappealing reality.In all that stillness and quiet, it was amplifying what was already inside me.In the dark room of my mind, meditation had turned on the lights.In getting you where you want to be, meditation may show you what you don’t want to see.(P.86)Breathwork For The Body MindAs you’ve probably noticed, your breathing changes with your emotions.We hold our breath when we’re concentrating, and we take shallow breaths when we’re nervous or anxious.But these responses are instinctive rather than helpful, meaning that to hold your breath doesn’t really help your concentration, and shallow breathing actually makes the symptoms of anxiety worse.Controlled breathing, on the other hand, is an immediate way to steady yourself, a portable tool you can use to shift your energy on the fly.— — —Modern science backs up the effectiveness of pranayama for myriad effects including improving cardiovascular health, lowering overall stress, and even improving academic test performance.The meditations I present here and elsewhere in the book are universally used in therapy, coaching, and other meditation practices throughout the world.When you align with your breath, you learn to align with yourself through every emotion - calming, centering, and de-stressing yourself.Once or twice a day, I suggest setting aside time for breathwork.Additionally, breathwork is such an effective way to calm yourself down that you feel short of breath or that you’re holding your breath.You don’t need to be in a relaxing space in order to meditate (though it is obviously helpful and appropriate when you are new to meditation).You can do it anywhere - in the bathroom at a party, when getting on a plane, or right before you make a presentation or meet with strangers.Step 1: Find a comfortable position - sitting in a chair, sitting upright with a cushion, or lying downStep 2: Close your eyesStep 3: lower your gaze(yes, you can do this with your eyes closed)Step 4: Make yourself comfortable in this positionStep 5: Roll back your shouldersStep 6: Bring your awareness toCalm Balance Ease Stillness PeaceWhenever your mind wanders just gently and softly bring it back toCalm Balance Ease Stillness PeaceBreathe in for a count of 4 through your nose in your own time at your own paceHold for a count of 4Exhale for a count of 4 through your mouthPowered by Firstory Hosting

✉️想與我分享你的感想，歡迎來信！evita1500@gmail.com上了英文字幕的影片版會在Youtube頻道唷Follow我的Youtube頻道: The Reader Evita <---直接點Follow我的臉書專頁:https://www.facebook.com/EvitaELCYT收看影片版: https://youtu.be/Xrisf-gYhqA小額贊助支持本節目： https://open.firstory.me/join/ckqovuxw9e42r0818h8tmvk4n留言告訴我你對這一集的想法： https://open.firstory.me/story/ckzh4wrol1qby09809bf98elz?m=comment請我一杯咖啡，讓我持續創作吧！https://open.firstory.me/join/ckqovuxw9e42r0818h8tmvk4n?本集內容Chapter 4 Intention(p.77-83)Live Your Intentions“Of course, simply having intentions isn’t enough.”“We have to take action to help those seeds grow.”“I don’t believe in wishful “manifesting,” the idea that if you simply believe something will happen, it will.”“We can’t sit around with true intentions expecting that what we want will fall into our laps.”“Nor can we expect someone to find us, discover how amazing we are, and hand us our place in the world.”“Nobody is going to create our lives for us.”“Martin Luther King said: “Those who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love war.”“When people come to me seeking guidance, I constantly hear,”“I wish….I wish…I wish…”“I wish my partner would be more attentive.”“I wish I could have the same job but make more money. ”“I wish my relationship were more serious.”“We never say,”“I wish I could be more organized and focused and could do the hard work to get that.”“We don’t vocalize what it would actually take to get what we want.”“I wish is a code for “I don’t want to do anything differently.”“There’s an apocryphal story about Picasso that perfectly illustrates how we fail to recognize the work and perseverance behind achievement.”“As the tale goes, a woman sees Picasso in a market.”“She goes up to him and says, “Would you mind drawing something for me?”“Sure,” he says, and thirty seconds later he hands her a remarkably beautiful little sketch.“That will be thirty thousand dollars,” he says.“But Mr. Picasso, ”the woman says, “how can you charge me so much?”“This drawing only took you thirty seconds!”“It took me thirty years.”“The effort behind it is invisible.”“The monk in my ashram who could easily recite all the scriptures put years into memorizing them.”“I needed to consider that investment, the life it required, before making it my goal.”“When asked who we are, we resort to stating what we do:”“I’m an accountant.”“I’m a lawyer.”“I’m a housewife/househusband.”“I’m an athlete.”“I’m a teacher.”“Sometimes this is just a useful way to jump-start a conversation with someone you’ve just met.”“But life is more meaningful when we define ourselves by our intentions rather than our achievements.”“If you truly define yourself by your job, then what happens when you lose your job? ””If you define yourself as an athlete, then an injury ends your career, you don’t know who you are.”“Losing a job shouldn’t destroy our identities, but often it does.”“Instead, if we live intentionally, we sustain a sense of purpose and meaning that isn’t tied to what we accomplish but who we are.”“If your intention is to help people, you have to embody that intention by being kind, openhearted, and innovative, by recognizing people’s strengths, supporting their weakness, listening, helping them grow, reading what they need from you, and noticing when it changes.”“When you identify your intentions, they reveal your values.”“Living your intention means having it permeate your behavior.”“If your goal is to improve your relationship, you might plan dates, give your partner gifts, and get a haircut to look better for them.”“Your wallet will be thinner, your hair might look better, and your relationship may or may not improve.”“But watch what happens if you make internal changes to live your intention.”“In order to improve your relationship, you try to become calmer, more understanding, and more inquisitive.”“If the changes you make are internal, you’ll feel better about yourself and you’ll be a better person.”“If your relationship doesn’t improve, you’ll still be the better for it.”Do The Work“Once you know the why behind the want, consider the work behind the want.”“What will it take to get the nice house and the fancy car?”“Are you interested in that work?”“Are you willing to do it?”“Will the work itself bring you a sense of fulfillment even if you don’t succeed quickly - or ever?”“The monk who asked me why I wanted to learn all of the scripture by heart didn’t want me to be mesmerized by the superpowers of other monks and to seek those powers out of vanity.”*艾薇塔的邊讀邊念的時候不小心把mesmerize (v.)迷惑 看成 memorize(v.)了 ＴＴ“He wanted to know if I was interested in the work - in the life I would live, the person I would be, the meaning I would find in the process of learning the scriptures.”“The focus is on the process, not the outcome.”“The Desert Fathers were the earliest Christian monks, living in hermitage in the deserts of the Middle East.”“According to these monks,”“We do not make progress because we do not realize how much we can do.”“We lose interest in the work we have begun, and we want to be good without even trying.”“If you’re in love with the day-to-day process, then you do it with depth, authenticity, and a desire to make an impact.”“And if you have a clear and confident sense of why you took each step, then you are more resilient.”“Failure doesn’t mean you’re worthless - it means you must look for another route to achieving worthwhile goals.”“Satisfaction comes from believing in the value of what you do.”Letting Go To Grow“Living intentionally means stepping back from external goals, letting go of outward definitions of success, and looking within.”“Developing a meditation practice with breathwork is a natural way to support this intention.”“As you cleanse yourself of opinions and ideas that don’t make sense with who you are and what you want, I recommend using breathwork as a reminder to live at your own pace, in your own time.”“Breathwork helps you understand that your way is unique- and that’s as it should be.”Powered by Firstory Hosting

✉️想與我分享你的感想，歡迎來信！evita1500@gmail.com這集也有上了英文字幕的影片版唷～我的Youtube頻道: The Reader Evitahttps://youtu.be/JJTiScS_kCQ小額贊助支持本節目： https://open.firstory.me/join/ckqovuxw9e42r0818h8tmvk4n留言告訴我你對這一集的想法： https://open.firstory.me/story/ckxikgskf07fl0966orqpmjn6?m=comment請我一杯咖啡，讓我持續創作吧！https://open.firstory.me/join/ckqovuxw9e42r0818h8tmvk4n?本集內容Chapter 4 Intention(p.75-76)“As monks, we learned to clarify our intentions through the analogy of seeds and weeds.”“When you plant a seed, it can grow into and expansive tree that provides fruit and shelter for everyone.”“That’s what a broad intention, like love, compassion, or service, can do.”“The purity of your intention has nothing to do with what career you choose.”“A traffic officer can give a speeding ticket making a show of his power, he can instruct you not to speed with the same compassion a parent would have when telling a child not to play with fire.”“You can be a bank teller and execute a simple transaction with warmth.”“But if our intentions are vengeful or self-motivated, we grow weeds.”“Weeds usually grow from ego, greed, envy, anger, pride, competition, or stress.”“These might look like normal plants to begin with, but they will never grow into something wonderful.”“If you start going to the gym to build a revenge body so your ex regrets breaking up with you, you’re planting a weed.”“You haven’t properly addressed what you want(most likely to feel understood and loved, which would clearly require a different approach)”“You’ll get strong, and reap the health benefits of working out, but the stakes of your success are tied to external factors - provoking your ex.”“If your ex doesn’t notice or care, you’ll still feel the same frustration and loneliness.““However, if you start going to the gym because you want to feel physically strong after your breakup, or if, in the course of working out, your intention shifts to this, you’ll get in shape and feel emotionally satisfied.““Another example of a weed is when a good intention gets attached to the wrong goal.”“Say my intention is to build my confidence, and I decide that getting a promotion is the best way to do it.”“I work hard, impress my boss, and move up a level, but when I get there, I realize there’s another level, and I still feel insecure.”“External goals cannot fill internal voids.”“No external labels or accomplishments can give me true confidence.”“I have to find it in myself.”Powered by Firstory Hosting