The Magic Rule of 21: From 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari'

The Magic Rule of 21

For new behavior to crystallize into a habit, one had to perform the new activity for twenty-one days in a row. The only way to permanently install a new habit is to direct so much energy toward it that the old one slips away like an unwelcome house guest. The installation is generally complete in about twenty-one days, the time it takes to create a new neural pathway.

So, staying with your goal for a period of twenty-one days and performing the new activity at the same time for each of these days, will insert it into your routine. Whether it is meditation, getting up earlier or reading for an hour every day, soon you will be performing the new habit with the same ease that you feel while brushing your teeth.

From: Between Death and Life

Some people think that there is no life after death. But once something exists, the energy which is that existence cannot be destroyed. Why is it so hard to believe that there is existence after the death of a physical body? You cannot destroy something like electricity because the energy is always there although in a different form. Why do they think that a human spirit and soul can 'be destroyed' when energy cannot? That is what the human soul is-nothing but energy. For the soul is not merely a thing which is residing within the physical body. It is an energy. And as an energy, it can propagate as energies are wont to do. The correct perception of your personality would be as energy, for that is the essence of the truth of creation- that all is energy. Some forms are on lower levels such as the physical world around you; but they are energy and can be demonstrated as such by simple conversion processes such as fire. All matter is in reality, energy. It is simply manifested in a lower, baser form. And so you can see yourselves as pure beings of energy, nothing more, nothing less. There is no such thing as matter. This is simply a connotation which has been given to describe that which is apparent around the "physical" world.

From: The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari

If you want to live a more peaceful, meaningful life, you must think more peaceful, meaningful thoughts.

From: The Monk who Sold his Ferrari

We might not be able to control the weather or the traffic or the moods of all those around us. But, we most certainly can control our attitude towards these events. We all have the power to determine what we will think about in any given moment. This ability is part of what makes us human.
There is no such thing as objective reality or 'the real world'. There are no absolutes. The face of your greatest enemy might be the face of my finest friend. An event that appears to be a tragedy to one might reveal the seeds of unlimited opportunity to another. What really separates people who are habitually upbeat and optimistic from those who are consistently miserable is how the circumstances of life are interpreted and processed.

From: Communion with God

Each moment of your life is a holy moment, a moment of creation. Each moment is a new beginning.
Look to see what you are doing today. Is this how you choose to define yourself?
Look to see what you are thinking today. Is this what you wish to create?
Look to see what you are saying today. Is this what you desire to be so?
Remember that every act is an act of self-definition. Every thought carries the energy of creation. Every word is a declaration of what is true for you.