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Mind Wisdom
Training the mind is an important part of stopping unwanted behaviors. In the 30 day stopping program I learned lots of different methods of training the mind to stop undesirable behaviours. An important part of training the mind is to develop an intention statement. Changing and tweeking the statement as you go is okay. After some tweaks my stopping statement ended up as "I don't waste my time on drugs, alcohol ad sexual addictions because there are more productive things to do." Another important aspect of training the mind to stop is repetition. Some of my favourite ways that I used to ingrain this in my mind were repeated visualization of stopping myself from doing these unwanted behaviors, saying my intention statement for a determined number of times, writing down my stopping intention on paper, and asking my Christ-self to give me the kind of day that I want to have.
G.C.
Spirit Wisdom
Experiencing an instant of inner peace is promoted by meditation, pondering an inspiring phrase, or simply being still. The ego gives up its insistence on being the center of attention, and there is a connection to my Christ-self. There is a sense of peace, joy, harmony, and love. Problems of the world lose their compelling significance. There is either something that can be done about them right now or they are seen to be fabrications of the ego to distract from the stillness and silence of true being. All is well. There is only this... what is here now... beyond form, beyond concepts, beyond time measurements.
ela
Developing the skill of spirit is an important aspect in stopping unwanted behaviour. When you use the skill of spirit it can calm your nerves and take your mind off the unwanted behavior you are thinking of. After finishing some of these skill of spirit techniques, you will usually feel a calming sense of peace inside. Some of my favourite methods for skill of spirit are meditating on a phrase given to you on the particular day you are on, doing communion exercises which consist of asking a question during a state of relaxation and waitng for an answer to come from within, and one other method I liked was writing down prayers aimed at curbing the behaviour I want to stop in my stopping journal.
G.C.
Heart Wisdom
The skill of the heart is an important aspect of successfully completing the 30-day stopping program. Basically the skill of the heart is to make yourself happy. Love for yourself and others is the key to happiness and therefore the key to developing the skill of the heart. I learned various ways to develop this skill. Some of them are recalling past memories of happy times, forgiving yourself as well as forgiving others, figuring out what makes you happy and going for it, and being able to ask others for what you want in a calm peaceful manner. When I practiced these techniques I was taught in the 30 day stopping program it was as if my happiness was instantly increased.
G.C.
Body Wisdom
The skill of the body is an important part of the 30 day stopping program. For me it seemed to be the most effective method of all. Exercising every day has many benefits. These include an increase in self esteem, stress relief, improved appearance, and better health. One of the reasons the skill of the body and exercising is effective for stopping is that it diffuses tension, including impulsive tension. Exercising has an immediate influence on physical and mental health.
Apparently, one study found that exercise alone was more effective at treating depression than any pharmaceutical was. And I think that depression has a close link to many unwanted problem habits. Just getting out and doing the work outs gives you less time to sit around and think about giving in to an unwanted behaviour. Also when you work out it really is an act of self love you are doing.
As far as the work outs themselves are concerned, it is important to start out with less intensity ad gradually increase the duration and intensity of your workouts. This way you won't over do it and risk injury. Another important aspect of working out is variety. The three main categories of exercising are cardio, strength and flexibility. Cardio could include things like running, riding a bike, or swimming. Something that gets your heart rate up and keeps is there for an extended period is cardio. Strength would include things like weight lifting kettlebell training or calisthenics and body weight exercises. Last but not least is flexibility. Flexibility includes exercising in a way to increase your range of motion. Yoga is one of my favourite ways to work on flexibility. It's also good for strength and for your mind too. Plain old stretching works too, and there is a lot of good ones out there in books and online if you don't know any.
Variety is good and it will give you the best results overall. But really as long as you're doing something almost every day it's going to be incredibly helpful with stopping unwanted behaviour.
G.C.
