The Home of Steven Barnes
Author, Teacher, Screenwriter


Thursday, April 11, 2013

The Diamond Hour--Simpliified


Ten Principles For Your Perfect “Diamond Hour”

I’ve been promoting the idea of one “Diamond Hour” that belongs to you, every day.   And want to zero in on the ten most important principles connected with that idea.   So, just as with the “Writing Machine” I use in coaching, I wanted to see if I could extract the ten most important principles behind this.    It will take me a little time, but hopefully you won’t mind if I work this out in public over the next couple of weeks.  I’ll enumerate them, then go back over them day by day, o.k.?

1) Five Minute Miracle.  Take five sixty-second “breathing breaks”, one every 2-3 hours.

2) Re-write your top 3-5 goals once every day.  Be certain to have a tangible, photographable goal in each of your top three arenas (body, finances, relationships).  And Journal your emotions and observations.

3) Begin to expand out the “5MM” breaks.  For instance, spend extra time during session #1 by doing it first thing in the morning on awakening, listen to your heartbeat.

4) Begin to implement the “Ancient Child” technique to contact your intuition and passion, clarify your goals for the year and your actions for the day that relate to them.

5) Create a 15-minute (minimum) “morning ritual” of motion and emotion to center and begin to move your goals and intentions from concept to motion.   This means Joint Recovery, Five Tibetans, Sun Salutations…something basic and powerful that requires no equipment.  Something you do every day to anchor yourself into your physical body, your vehicle for this world.  As you do, you will go through a three-step process (Steps 6-9):

6) Raising your emotions.  (About three minutes)    While moving, use an affirmation like “every day in every way I’m getting better and better.”  The trick is to do it WITH FEELING and WITH MOTION.  Walking, exercising, breathing deeply IN MOTION.   You bring up the emotions you want to feel.   Charles Darwin believed that emotions were heuristics, simplified instructions for life that help us sort between numerous choices swiftly.  Without emotion, it is difficult to clarify values, and without values, how do you know which of life’s countless options to take?

7) Gratitude—past and present.  (About three minutes)  Imagine all of the things in your life for which you ALREADY feel gratitude: life, love, health, family, a roof over your head, etc.  As you do, chant out loud something like “I’m SO grateful for my loving children!   I’m SO grateful for a strong, healthy body!  I’m SO grateful for a healthy mind and happy heart!” and so on.  The core message of “As A Man Thinketh” and countless other self-help books is that our minds and emotions create our worlds.

8) Gratitude—future (goals).  (About three minutes)   Now, and this is important—take that SAME emotional energy you have raised about the things you have now…and begin to give thanks for the goals you have in the future, as if you have already accomplished them.   Say it out loud.   If you can’t say it, you can’t have it!   “I’m SO grateful for the new love in my life!  I’m SO grateful I take the time to meditate every day!   I’m SO grateful for my five new customers!   I’m SO grateful I look great in my size X pants!  I’m SO grateful my children graduated college!”   Use total physiology, emphasis, enthusiasm, body language.  The message of “The Science of Getting Rich” is that gratitude for what we have now is the foundation for our future accomplishment

9) Incantation (About three minutes)  chanting, aloud, with enthusiasm, the belief that you already possess the resources and power necessary to create your dreams.   Guru Tony Robbins suggests a statement like “All I need is within me now.  All the STRENGTH I need is within me now.  All the CONFIDENCE I need is within me now.  All the LOVE I need is within me now…”   Again, WHILE MOVING, WALKING EXERCISING. 

10) TAKE AN ACTION.   You’ve clarified goals, raised energy, visualized your internal world and the external steps you will take today and this week to create your future.  NOW…take an action!   Exercise, write  1000 words of your novel, write an email you’ve put off.  DO SOMETHING.  ACT ON A DECISION.

These are the ten steps I’ve been teaching, and using myself for years...and in some cases, since childhood.  Start with five minutes, while keeping a commitment to stealing a hour back from the world.   Then begin, one step at a time, to walk The Thousand Mile Road.  You may notice that I don’t specifically speak of Spirit.  That is deliberate.  But if you raise your energy, fill your life with love, learn to serve your community in a way that they exchange value with you, and remove the fear from your life…you will automatically begin to seek a higher connection, never fear.  Take care of the roots, and the rest of the plant will grow.

I’ll look at these again, very soon.
Namaste
Steve
(Www.diamondhour.com)

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