Are You Lacking Self-Discipline? - Part 1

A man does not live until he begins to discipline himself; he merely exists. Like an animal he gratifies his desires and pursues his inclinations just where they may lead him. He is happy as a beast is happy, because he is not conscious of what he is depriving himself; he suffers as the beast suffers, because he does not know the way out of suffering. He does not intelligently reflect upon life, and lives in a series of sensations, longings, and confused memories which are unrelated to any central idea or principle. A man whose inner life is so ungoverned and chaotic must necessarily manifest this confusion in the visible conditions of his outer life in the world; and though for a time, running with the stream of his desires, he may draw to himself a more or less large share of the outer necessities and comforts of life, he never achieves any real success nor accomplishes any real good, and sooner or later wordly failure and disaster are inevitable, as the direct result of the inward failure to properly adjust and regulate those mental forces which make the outer life.

Before a man accomplish anything of an enduring nature in the world he must first of all acquire some measure of success in the management of his own mind. This is as mathematical a truism as that two and two are four, for, "out of the heart are the issues of life." If a man cannot govern the forces within himself, he cannot hold a firm hand upon the outer activities which form his visible life. On the other hand, as a man succeeds, in governing himself he rises to higher and higher levels of power and usefulness and success in the world. The only difference between the life of the beast and that of the undisciplined man is that the man has a wider variety of desires, and experiences a greater intensity of suffering. It may be said of such a man that he is dead, being truly dead to self-control, chastity, fortitude, and all the nobler qualities which constitute life. In the consciousness of such a man the crucified Christ ies entombed, awaiting that resurrection which shall revivify the mortal sufferer, and wake him up to a knowledge of tha realities of his existence.

With the practice of self-discipline a man begins to live, for he then commences to rise above the inward confusion and to adjust his conduct to a steadfast centre within himself. He ceases to follow where inclination leads him, reins in the steed of his desires, and lives in accordance with the dictates of reason and wisdom. Hitherto his life has been without purpose or meaning, but now he begins to consciously mould his own destiny; he is "clothed and in his right mind."

In the process of self-discipline there are three stages namely;

1. Control

2. Purification

3. Relinquishment

A man begins to discipline himself by controlling those passions which have hitherto controlled him; he resists temptation and guards himself against all those tendencies to selfish gratifications which are so easy and natural, and which have formerly dominated him. He brings his appetite into subjection, and begins to eat as a reasonable and responsible being, practising moderation and thoughtfulness in the selection of his food, with the object of making his body a pure instrument through which he may live and act as becomes a man, and no longer degarding that body by pandering to gustatory pleasure. He puts a check upon his tongue, his temper, and, in fact, his every animal desire and tendency, and this he does by referring all his acts to a fixed centre within himself. It is a process of living from within outward, instead of, as formerly, from without inward. He conceives of an ideal, and, enshrining that ideal in the sacred recesses of his heart, he regulates his conduct in accordance with its exaction and demands.

There is a philosophical hypothesis that at the heart of every atom and every aggregation of atoms in the universe there is a motionless center which is the sustaining source of all the universal activities. Be this as it may, there is certainly in the heart of every man and woman a selfless centre without which the outer man could not be, and the ignoring of which leads to suffering and confusion. This selfless center which takes the form, in the mind, of an ideal of unselfishness and spotless purity, the attainment of which is desirable, is man's eternal refuge from the storms of passion and all the conflicting elements of his lower nature. It is the Rock of Ages, the Christ within, the divine and immortal in all men.

End of part 1. Part 2 coming soon...

**Attn Ezine Editors / Site Owners**Feel free to reprint this article in its entiretyin your ezine or on your site so long as you leaveall links in place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carl Cholette is a young entrepreneur who is specialized for finding and creating business opportunities.Discover, how you can travel the world at wholesale prices while making $2,000 to $10,000 a month with 95% of the work done for you! Click NOW =====> http://www.coastalcenter.ca
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hartford Courant

Motivate Students, And Achievement Follows Hartford Courant But among the ideas that have been advanced so far, one central question goes largely unanswered: "What must we do to ensure that every student is personally engaged in learning and motivated to produce quality work in school?" Without a robust answer ... and more »

Miesha Tate is motivated to bring the fight to 'delusional' Ronda Rousey MMAmania.com Anything that she says is motivation, definitely." Everyone knows Rousey has ridiculous judo, jiu-jitsu and submission skills. Tate comes from a wrestling background, but she believes it's more than just her wrestling that gives her the edge: "That's ... and more »

Contract won't dampen Sandoval's motivation MLB.com Management's obvious alternative would have been to sign Sandoval to one-year deals for each of the next three seasons, using the salary arbitration process as a -- pardon the cliche -- carrot on a stick to motivate the switch-hitter. and more »

Seymour wrestling trio has three times the motivation to get to state Green Bay Press Gazette Despite their accolades, all three returned this season with motivation to improve on their junior campaigns and hunt down the program's first individual state championship since 1986 when Paul Leisgang won Seymour's lone state crown at 98 pounds. and more »

Bleacher Report

MMA: Condit wants to be Top Chef of UFC OCRegister Condit's wife gave birth to their son, Owen, in March 2010, which has created new motivation for Condit. “It can be difficult,â€� Condit said. “I mean, I think anybody who has kids knows. They can be a challenge, but it's awesome. My son is my world. UFC 143 Results: Will St-Pierre Be Motivated for a Fight Against Condit?Bleacher Report GSP Joins 'UFC Tonight' on Fuel TV: January 31, 2012Yahoo! Sports Monday Water Cooler: Looking Back at UFC 143Heavy.com Toronto Sun all 1,314 news articles »

Lewiston Sun Journal

Student musicians are motivated Lewiston Sun Journal RUMFORD — Many parents struggle to motivate teenagers to do homework, clean their rooms or do their chores. Not so when it comes to creating music. Talented students at Mountain Valley High School spend hours practicing and preparing for performances.

Lifesite

Obama: Jesus is motivation behind health care agenda Lifesite “But in my moments of prayer, I'm reminded that faith and values play an enormous role in motivating us to solve some of our most urgent problem.â€� In particular, he noted, “when I talk about making sure insurance companies aren't discriminating against ... and more »

Doubters motivate former Purdue star Ninkovich Journal and Courier More motivation for me." When Ninkovich and the New England Patriots faced the Baltimore Ravens in the Jan. 22 AFC Championship game, Ninkovich couldn't help but glance at the opposing team's sideline where Cameron stood as the Ravens' offensive ... and more »

Telegraph.co.uk

Pakistan v England: Misbah ul-Haq and Mohsin Khan sweep away the past as they ... Telegraph.co.uk Being sentenced to exile since March 2009 has proved a motivation to Pakistan so far. In Dubai, the several hundred Pakistan supporters made the noise of several thousands; but, sooner or later, exile will demoralise rather than motivate. 3rd Test: England's nightmare continuesThe Express Tribune all 1,367 news articles »

Daily News & Analysis

Boullier: Raikkonen fully motivated The Press Association Lotus team principal Eric Boullier has been left in no doubt as to Kimi Raikkonen's motivation following his return to Formula One. Raikkonen's comeback after two years away from the sport, during which time he predominantly competed in the World Rally ... Kimi Raikkonen says motivation has never been an issue with himDaily News & Analysis Raikkonen: Motivation never an issueYahoo! Eurosport UK Kimi Raikkonen dismisses motivation questionsESPN F1 Telegraph.co.uk all 224 news articles »