Solitude--Advice from Brian Tracy

[rosegold]

I got this in my subscription mail from Brian Tracy.

To get the full benefit of your periods of solitude, you must sit quietly for at least 30 to 60 minutes at a time. If you haven't done it before, it will take the first 25 minutes or so for you to stop fidgeting and moving around. You'll almost have to hold yourself physically in your seat. You'll have an almost irresistible desire to get up and do something. But you must persist.

Solitude requires that you sit quietly, perfectly still, back and head erect, eyes open, without cigarettes, candy, writing materials, music or any interruptions whatsoever for at least 30 minutes. An hour is better.

Become completely relaxed, and breathe deeply. Just let your mind flow. Don't deliberately try to think about anything. The harder you "don't try," the more powerfully it works. After 20 or 25 minutes, you'll begin to feel deeply relaxed. You'll begin to experience a flow of energy coming into your mind and body.

You'll have a tremendous sense of well-being. At this point, you'll be ready to get the full benefit of these moments of contemplation.

The River of Ideas
The incredible thing about solitude is that if it is done correctly, it works just about 100 percent of the time. While you're sitting there, a stream, a river, of ideas will flow through your mind. You'll think about countless subjects in an uncontrolled stream of consciousness. Your job is just to relax and listen to your inner voice.

At a certain stage during your period of solitude, the answers to the most pressing difficulties facing you will emerge quietly and clearly, like a boat putting gently to the side of a lake. The answer that you seek will come to you so clearly and it will feel so perfect that you'll experience a deep sense of gratitude and contentment.

Trusting Yourself
When you emerge from this period of quiet, you must do exactly what has come to you. It may involve dealing with a human situation. It may involve starting something or quitting something. Whatever it is, when you follow the guidance that you received in solitude, it will turn out to be exactly the right thing to do. Everything will be OK. And it will usually work out far better than you could have imagined. Just try it and see.

You must learn to trust yourself. You must develop the habit of listening to yourself and then acting on the guidance you receive.

Action Exercises
Here are three steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, select a specific time and place to sit quietly and practice one full hour of solitude. Don't put it off.

Second, take small periods of silence and solitude during the day, especially when you feel overwhelmed with problems or responsibilities.

Third, take action immediately on the ideas and insights you receive while in solitude. One good idea can save you months and years of hard work. The key is trust.

Whatever it is, when you follow the guidance that you received in solitude, it will turn out to be exactly the right thing to do.

Can anybody confirm this claim?

[sbdiane]

The still small voice. Your intuition. These are things you cannot hear when you fill your head with noise.

I don't think you have to literally sit still. The same quietude can be achieved through writing practice or through walking. The trick is to clear your mind so that noise is not blocking out your inner truth. If you follow your inner truth it will be exactly the right thing to do.

It's always when you don't follow it and instead stuff that voice down with doubts or food or drugs or constant noise and distractions that you end up in trouble. I'm sure you can confirm examples of that in your life.

[dali]

I cant confirm it or not but certainly the real benefit from being completely physically still , for me is quite remarkable. Something very beautiful comes directly from just pure physical stillness. I must try to listen to my thoughts although that might be quite hard for me as I have tried to, rather than focus on my thoughts simply be aware of them and let them go without giving them any attention but I will try it. The idea doesnt appeal, usually when I do something like this excercise I want to get away from my thinking but I am going to try it to see if any such answers come!! Its nice to have an alternative to try out. Thanks.

[MagicalRealist]

Originally Posted by rosegold

Solitude requires that you sit quietly, perfectly still, back and head erect, eyes open, without cigarettes, candy, writing materials, music or any interruptions whatsoever for at least 30 minutes. An hour is better.

I disagree with the "just sitting" requirement. I use intensive, spontaneous, uninterrupted writing to reach the exact same kinds of realizations, and these days they usually come in a lot less time (more like 10-15 minutes).

That said, there's nothing wrong with the practice Tracy describes; it's a lot like sitting zazen. If you want to try it, I say go for it. But to say that solitude requires this? No. There are other means of slowing down your racing mind and clearing away mental clutter that stands in the way of The Answer, and what may work for one person does not (and need not) work for all.

Can anybody confirm this claim?

I've found it to be true, in my own experience with writing (as well as walking meditation). Eventually, The Answer comes. And sometimes it seems weird, or it's not what I wanted, and sometimes I resist doing it because it touches on something uncomfortable for me--but at the same time The Answer has so much weight (for lack of a better way of describing it) that I know it's the right thing to do.

(And a lot of the time, The Answer doesn't "emerge quietly and clearly" for me--it hits me like a lightning bolt. My hand is moving across the page, and the next thing I know, BAM! There it is!)

[changingbetter]

I love Brian Tracy.

[Hyperchiller]

Originally Posted by changingbetter

I love Brian Tracy.

+1 Love

I love Steve too.

[dannielo]

Seems like meditation, just that it's longer and doesn't require you to sit down and close your eyes.

[bbdream8]

I have never tried that method before. But I believe we need to allocate a time to review ourselves and think of our actions and see what we are doing right or wrong and learn from our experiences.

Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger