life-organizing principles 1

Would that more people followed these seemingly simple directives. Summarized from the works of Alice Bailey, particularly A Treatise on White Magic.

Above all, practice harmlessness

• Hold no harmful thoughts.
• Express no harmful words.
• Maintain positive harmlessness and constant watchfulness.
• Engage in no harmful action.
• Avoid negative harmlessness and tolerance through avoidance.

Desire nothing for your separated self

• Practice and strive for simplicity.
• Reject materialism.
• Eliminate possessiveness and self-reference.

Look for the sign of divinity in all

• Focus on the underlying causes, not the outward effects.
• Act on the realization that we are all the children of God.

Strive to live as a spiritual being

• Connect with your soul.
• Live a deeper Life.
• Develop a quiet, reflective mind.
• Find solitude in your daily life.
• Lose sight of your personal affairs.
• Make sacrifices.
• Seek constant inner growth.
• Follow the dictates of your own soul and the promptings of your higher self.

Learn to control your thoughts

• Thoughts are things; use them wisely.
• Guard your thoughts and your speech.
• Eliminate destructive and negative thoughts.

End separateness

• Strive to drop all racial, sectarian, political, and national barriers.
• Realize that we are all “of the same blood”.

Practice silence

• Learn how to keep quiet.
• Speak less and love more.
• Maintain balance and poise; hold the inner calm.
• Do not try to impose your ideas on other people.

Maintain serenity

• Keep your inner calm, poised in soul consciousness, the depths of your life undisturbed.

Do not be critical

• Criticism is a poison.
• Thoughts are things; guard your thoughts and your words.
• Do not deal with the affairs of others.
• Refuse to be separative.
• Permit no condemnation of others.

Have the right motive

• Only you know what your motive is and whether it is true and pure.
• Know your motive for all endeavors.

Organize your life

• Control your time.
• Regulate and order your daily life.
• Maintain a sense of proportion and balance.

Be detached

• Cultivate the attitude of the onlooker, a silent watcher.
• See all life in the light which streams from your soul.
• You are but one of many workers; be indifferent to the outcome of your work.

Be humble

• “True humility is based on fact, on vision, and on time pressures.”

Be sincere

• Apply in your daily life what you learn in your studies.

Have singleness of purpose

• Focus on this moment. Eliminate the secondary aspects of your life.
• Live a one-pointed life, and constantly practice the Presence of God.

Be mentally polarized

• Live your inner life on the mental plane.
• Strive to maintain a constant attitude of meditation—not just for a few minutes a day but constantly, all day.
• Maintain a constant orientation to directing your life from your soul.

Practice divine indifference

• Be indifferent to yourself, your personal interests, likes and dislikes.
• Maintain a neutral attitude toward your personal life: accept what is offered; use what is serviceable; but do not be held back by personality reactions.

Demonstrate a true love of humanity

• Practice goodwill.
• Promote world unity.
• Serve humanity unselfishly.
• Find your own way of serving, but do so as your primary purpose in life.

Live a life which is an example for others

Cultivate presence in each moment

• Practice full awareness of your actions and surroundings. Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness
• Return frequently to the present moment. Gurdjieff, Views from the Real World
• Engage in conscious observation of yourself. Pierre Hadot, Philosophy as a Way of Life
• Bring sacred attention to routine tasks. Eknath Easwaran, Passage Meditation

Choose your words and agreements wisely

• Be impeccable with your word. Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements
• Don’t take anything personally. ibid.
• Don’t make assumptions. ibid.
• Always do your best, and allow your best to evolve. ibid.

Align with your higher values

• Let truth, beauty, simplicity, and wholeness guide your choices. Abraham Maslow, The Farther Reaches of Human Nature
• Choose what expands your awareness. Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine
• Let the inner divine prompt your motives and your actions. Bailey, White Magic

Practice inner inquiry and self-observation

• Look for the origin of reactions rather than suppressing them. A.H. Almaas, Facets of Unity
• Seek to understand, not to judge. Hadot, The Inner Citadel
• Observe your inner states with curiosity and compassion. Almaas, The Unfolding Now
• Notice the difference between essence and personality. Almaas, Essence

Engage in sacred repetition

• Choose a spiritual text and meditate on it daily. Easwaran, Passage Meditation
• Use repetition to anchor your mind and reshape your inner patterns. ibid.
• Let your highest ideal shape your inner life. ibid.

Practice conscious work and service

• Approach every task as a chance to awaken. Gurdjieff, Views from the Real World
• Use work to train attention and presence. Bailey, Letters on Occult Meditation
• Offer your energy in service to others without expectation. Hadot, Philosophy as a Way of Life

Sources

• Alice Bailey, A Treatise on White Magic; Letters on Occult Meditation
• Eknath Easwaran, Passage Meditation
• Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements
• Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness
• Pierre Hadot, Philosophy as a Way of Life, The Inner Citadel
• A.H. Almaas, Essence, Facets of Unity, The Unfolding Now
• Abraham Maslow, The Farther Reaches of Human Nature
• Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine
• G.I. Gurdjieff, Views from the Real World