Ilchi Lee Meditations

Trying to figure out how you'll make time to get everything done this holiday season? Worried that the pressure and stress might begin to weigh you down? Personal success during the holidays involves some time and effort, but you'll be ready to take on anything with these simple tips.

Limit your engagements
It can seem like everybody you know is having a holiday party during this time of year, which can make it difficult for you to balance these engagements with the rest of your life. While it might be fun to go to each and every event, limit yourself to a handful so you don't get too burnt out.

Keep exercising
It's easy to indulge in holiday desserts and dinners but hard to work off those extra calories. Instead of waiting until New Year's Eve to make a resolution to work out, set aside a half hour or hour every day to exercise. Yoga, running and cycling are all great for a healthy personal success plan.

Plan early
With all the shopping, decorating, traveling and cooking you'll likely be doing during the holidays, it helps to plan out most of it in advance. Try to get as much done early in the season as possible to eliminate last-minute stress.

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High blood pressure – also known as hypertension – can potentially lead to kidney disease, severe cardiovascular events, stroke and vision problems if left untreated. While it's always important to talk to your doctor about any medications, it's equally necessary to inquire about lifestyle changes and holistic remedies that may alleviate high blood pressure.

Think about your journey toward better cardiovascular health as just one part of your personal success plan. After all, efforts that may bring blood pressure back to normal may also help you lose weight and improve your cognition.

Diet and exercise are key to maintaining and improving overall health. Ditch the idea that these efforts are reserved for occasions where you need to drop 10 pounds quickly, as daily balanced meals and vigorous physical activity are necessary components of everyday living.

Practicing yoga and meditation may also lead to a personal success story. These mind-body exercises have been shown to calm the mind, which has benefits for several areas of well-being, including the mental, physical and spiritual.

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Have you overcome difficult hardships in your lifetime and endured a long, arduous journey in order to accomplish your goals? If so, don't be shy about sharing your personal success story!

Many people are in need of motivation and inspiration, and what better way to obtain that than hearing about how others completed their personal growth plans? Not only will you be a beacon of hope for people who are feeling lost, but you can offer them tips on how to reach a better state of being.

Just be aware of the fine line between sharing and bragging. After all, rubbing your success in may do more harm than good. Be careful not to compare yourself to your audience or tell them what they should be doing. Rather, explain the simple steps you made to reach your goals.

You can do this through simple face-to-face conversation, on a blog or in a support group setting. Any way you choose, don't be bashful about the goals you've been able to reach, as being able to share your personal success story is one of the rewards that you deserve.

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According to an article written by Amy Levin-Epstein and published in CBS Money Watch, those hoping for a promotion tend to make the same five mistakes that keep them from advancing beyond entry- or mid-level work. Fortunately, there are five solutions to solving the mystery that is occupational stagnancy.

First of all, Levin-Epstein notes, you may be getting passed over for a promotion because the skill set you have, the set you demonstrate everyday to the best of your abilities, may be the perfect set of skills for the job you currently have, not the job you strive for. While this may be fine for the mid-level manager not looking to move up a rung, it can create serious problems for someone trying to exhibit personal development and get a promotion. Instead, decide the skills necessary for the desired position, and display these to your boss and coworkers.

Another obstruction to promotion lies in being too quiet. You may be doing great work, but if nobody knows about it, you won't go too far. Go out of your way to make sure your good work gets noticed by the right people, but be subtle. Screaming your success from the rooftop won't get you promoted either, the author warns.

If you fear you may be seen as simply "the guy who knows the fax machine code," then you probably are. If you want to be taken seriously for an executive position, Levin-Epstein writes, follow the old adage "dress for success" and understand well-timed office humor.

Speaking in a way that commands respect is an important aspect of being promoted. Present yourself in a manner that exhibits your personal growth as an employee, and jump at extra-work opportunities.

And finally, according to Levin-Epstein, get your timing right. Network with coworkers that know the inside scoop of a company, and use this information to your advantage.  

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Many people get involved with volunteer efforts out of a strong desire to address a situation that has personal significance to them. However, an individual may be able to set a more effective personal growth plan by eliminating all their attachments to the people and things in the world around them. This is the most effective approach to public service.

The Korean phrase Gong-shim addresses this issue. Literally translated, it means empty mind. However, it has come to be used to refer to a person who has a mind for the public good. By ridding one's self of attachments and connections to the world, a person is able to work toward peaceful ends with no motivation other than to make the world a better place.

It may sound like this approach is backwards. Certainly, in Western cultures, we tend to associate public service with individual passions. People get involved with causes that have touched them personally or that they think they can use to get them somewhere in life. Public service is never a bad thing, but taking this approach can leave a person short of their personal growth goals.

Before embarking on a journey of public service, an individual should work to eliminate all of their connections to the outside world. Through isolation it becomes possible to eliminate all the distractions that could have held a person back. This frees them to pursue their charitable efforts with vigor and honesty.

There are many paths to personal growth, and public service is certainly one of the most effective. However, in order to get the most out of this, people should take the right approach.
 

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It may sound counter-intuitive to say that searching for happiness and pursuing one's life dream in the workplace only leads to further dissatisfaction, but a recent study, published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, suggests exactly that, MSNBC reports.

"People who are striving to pursue happiness have a need to maximize their happiness, and those people are the ones who actually feel less happy and more disappointed," June Gruber, the co-author of the study wrote in the report.

Gruber states that there is an "obsessive preoccupation" with being happy in a career, which most likely is contributing to society's high rate of job dissatisfaction, according to the news source.

The report explores the notion that while happiness is absolutely necessary in some respects – such as its ability to "facilitate the pursuit of important goals," its importance in social bonds, its ability to broaden attention spans and its proven record of improving overall health – it could possibly have a negative side as well.

The authors outlined four questions that may shed light on whether or not the continual pursuit of workplace happiness is really beneficial. The study inquires about the degree of happiness one should strive for, the time, place and appropriateness of happiness, wrong ways to pursue it and wrong types of happiness. Answering these questions is a personal responsibility that may lead to a deeper awareness of the occupational problem at hand.

According to Psychologist Simon Rego, focusing too hard on career happiness leaves you absent from the present moment, invariably leading you to push what you want further away, MSNBC stated.

Gruber concludes the report with a comparison of happiness to food, stating that food, of course, is necessary, but there is a limit to what foods are good and appropriate.
 

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Most people have a tendency to fill their life up with a million things. Activities for the kids, meeting with friends, work responsibilities and recreational activities are a major fixture of today's culture. The same can be said for mental activities. Multitasking has never been a more prevalent pastime. However, the Korean phrase Gong suggests that this may be an unproductive personal growth plan.

In Korean, Gong means "empty." It is used to refer to a state of mind in which an individual has cleared their brain of all the unnecessary and negative thoughts. This leaves room for a person's true self and expressions to come to the surface. It is a much more natural way to live life, and personal growth experts like Ilchi Lee says that it can lead to strong spiritual development.

Attaining an empty mind can be difficult. In Western society we generally operate on a "more is better" approach to life. This is why most people are so busy and why schooling often stresses the accumulation of knowledge. Those seeking the transcendency of a blank mind may need to take steps to remove themselves from this popular approach and find a new way.

The benefits of this type of struggle may become apparent relatively quickly. It is commonly said that an empty mind is the surest way to unleash natural creative forces. This allows individuals to live their lives with spirituality and inspiration.

While the idea may run counter to everything that people in Western society are taught, focusing on emptying the brain is critically important. One cannot expect to fit anything new into their mind if it is already at full capacity.
 

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Deep within every person lies an inextinguishable light. This is the consciousness of their true self. While many only ever catch a fleeting glimpse of this figure, it may be possible to become more familiar with it through a deep burning desire for personal development.

This is the basis of the Korean concept Bohn. It is used to refer to the one, the origin or the source. In traditional practices it talks about the source of true knowledge and wisdom and is seen as a springboard to personal development.

Throughout a person’s daily life they may obscure their true self. In gossiping with coworkers or chatting with neighbors they may put on masks that hide who they really are. After many years of this type of practice it may become difficult for a person to recognize themself.

This is why practices that help a person get in touch with their true inner identity are so important. They can help a lost traveler on the road to spiritual growth find their direction again and claim the knowledge and wisdom that they they began pursuing in the first place.  

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There is only one path that a person can follow. While life may seem like an endless web of interconnected highways and byways, there is only one direction in which a person can go in their life. Accepting this truth may be the foundation of a search for spiritual growth and is the underpinning of the Korean term Tao.

Translated, Tao means "the way." It refers to the direction a person must take their life in order to attain enlightenment and growth. This path may not necessarily be the same for every person but there is only one direction that an individual may choose.

This is often a difficult concept for people to grasp. They look at the world around them and think that they could do just about whatever they want. However, each person was put on this Earth do one special thing. While it may take some searching, this purpose inevitably becomes clear. Fulfilling this role in the world is the key to a person's spiritual growth.

Therefore, a person should think of their Tao as a lightly trodden trail through the woods rather than a concrete highway. The highway is directionless and can go just about anywhere, but the trail has only one destination.
 

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Without meaning to, individuals often find ways to stand in their own way. They think they need to fill their lives up with all kinds of activities and pursuits. However, the Korean saying Mu-Shim suggests that this is the wrong approach to take when pursuing spiritual growth.

The phrase translates to "mind for the public good," and is used to describe an individual with a clear consciousness who is able to put their thoughts toward creation and productivity.

The part about having a clear mind is the most important. Too often, individuals think that knowledge and wisdom comes from filling their minds up with new facts and information. However, creativity is more likely to spring from an uncluttered brain.

When creativity becomes a major part of an individual's life, they are more capable of getting in touch with their true self. Through the expression of this self, a person is often able to work for the public good.

Therefore, the process of clearing the mind lays at the intersection of public service, creativity and spiritual growth.
 

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