Do you regularly feel at ease and at peace? Are you continuously overflowing with Joy and Bliss on a daily basis, such that you seem free of problems and emotional pain? If so, go directly to the comment section and share with us your secrets.你是否常处于安静平和的状态？你是否觉得日常生活中也充满着欢乐和喜悦而没有悲伤和烦恼呢？如果是这样的话，直接跳到下面的评论栏里和我们分享你的秘诀吧。 If you’re still reading, you are amongst the vast majority of us striving for a better life, yearning for a more peaceful and joyful existence. Yet, it seems like an impossible challenge, where we end up mentally punishing ourselves for failing, concluding that “I’m just not made to live in peace.”如果你还在读，那你和我们一样，也是为更好的生活奋斗并寻求更欢欣安宁的生活方式的芸芸众生之一。 然而，这看上去像是个不可能的任务，到头来我们反而因失败而在精神上惩罚了自己，得出所谓“我大概天生就没法平静的生活”的结论。 You see, it’s not us, it’s just that we’ve become so easily distracted by the hurrying demands of modern life, that we’ve temporarily lost touch with our natural state of being. But there is a way, if we seek it.这其实并不是我们的错。只是我们太容易被忙忙碌碌的现代生活分散了精力，而暂时地，和我们的天性失去了联系。但是，只要我们好好寻找，我们会发现，确实有这么一种方法可以成功。 The purpose of this article is to share a simple technique to bring more peace, joy and clarity into your life. Would you like that? 本文的目的是，与你分享一个简单的方法。它会给你生活带来更多的安宁、快乐和条理。你会喜欢吗？ Why It’s Hard to Find Peace and Joy?为什么安宁和快乐那么难得？ If you observe our problems, you will notice that most problems are rooted in the mind. The basic premise is the same: some external event happens, we choose to see only one side of the story, and then interpret the situation such that it causes some form of mental conflict, resulting in some form of emotional suffering. 如果你好好观察你的烦恼们，你会发现大部分烦恼都源自你的思想。道理是这样的：外部世界发生了一些事情，而我们仅看到事情的一面并试图理解它；于是，思想上的冲突便产生了，并导致了情绪上的变化。 While it is easy to simply say, “drop your problems”, you and I both know that it is not that simple. We all have had years and years of conditioning in attracting problems and conflicts. So much so, that the simple concept of ‘stop thinking about problems’ will not be so effective on us. We need tools that strike at the problem’s root. 说起来很简单——“扔掉你的烦恼”，但你我都知道这并不容易。年复一年，我们在这些烦恼和冲突上自我调节。正因如此，简单的“不要再想”对我们来说没什么效果。我们需要从根本上铲除这些烦恼。 Let’s now try something. Close your eyes for about a minute (or 5 minutes), and during this minute, send out the intention that you want silence and stillness, and you do not want to be pulled away from this silence by thoughts. (Pause your reading and go do this.) 我们先来做个小试验。闭上你的眼睛一分钟（或者五分钟）。在这段时间里，告诉你自己：你需要安静和平静，并且你不想被任何想法打断这安宁。（暂停你的阅读并尝试一下。） Okay, so what happened? You probably noticed that the moment you become silent, thoughts started popping up – random and unrelated thoughts. These thoughts become a form of distraction, pulling us away from our inner silence. 好了，感觉怎么样？你应该发现了，这一刻你变得平静，杂乱的、无关的思想也不再随意冒出来了。就是这些杂念在分散注意力，把我们带离内心的平静。 This was only an experiment where we consciously observed our mind and tried to become still, but could not. Imagine the state of our inner space, while we are going about our day, unaware of the polluting in-coming thoughts. 这只是个小实验。我们持续关注我们的思想并尝试保持平静而不能。想象一下，当我们进行日常生活的时候，我们的内心平和正是被各种念头无意识的污染了。 As a result, our inner space becomes cluttered with useless information, with thoughts that are not conducive to our wellbeing, with garbage. Because our inner space is cluttered, our inner clarity and in-born wisdom becomes distant and foggy. And essentially, we loose touch with that part of our inner selves that is sacred, and wise, and peaceful, and eternal. 最终，我们的内心世界充斥着各种无用信息，各种对好好生活无益的念想——各种垃圾。正因为我们的内心世界如此凌乱，井井有和与生俱来的生活智慧才变得遥不可及。必然的结果是，我们和神圣的、智慧的、永恒的、安宁的自我渐行渐远。 The distractions that we’ve declared as urgent and important, such as watching TV, updating our facebook and myspace and twitter pages, checking email, gossiping on the phone, loading mp3s on our music players, etc. all pull at us. They all pull at our attention, distracting us away from the things that are truly important to us – things that will bring lasting happiness and fulfillment to our lives and the lives of others we have yet to come to know. 之前提到的重要的分散注意力的事物，比如看电视、更新facebook/myspace/twitter、查收邮件、煲电话粥、下mp3等等，都在拉扯着我们。他们分散了我们的注意力，把我们从真正重要的事情——能给我们和他人生活带来长久的幸福和满足的事情——上带离。 Whether we recognize it or not, the information that we expose ourselves to, fills our inner space on some level, and affects our emotions and desires. 不管我们承认与否，我们所接触到信息都在某种程度上填充着我们的内在并影响着我们的情感和渴望。 And if we are not careful, we can easily rush through life, while spending our precious time on this planet focused on that which does not matter – and then wonder where did my life go? Why do I feel unsettled and easily irritated? Why do I feel unfulfilled and incomplete? And then we die wondering. 一不小心，我们就会碌碌终生，把宝贵的时间花费在一些并不重要的事情上——到头来迷茫于我的人生到底在干什么呢？为什么我是如此烦躁不安？为什么我不满足亦不完整？到头来，我们迷茫着离开这世界。 If you are here, breathing and reading this right now, then you have been blessed with this day, to wake up! Wake up and take control of your destiny, starting with what you focus on and allow into your life (regardless of your age).如果你还活着并还在阅读本文，那你是幸运的，快醒来吧！清醒过来并把握你自己的命运，一切从你关注的开始（无关你的年龄）。 Simple Guide to a Deep Inner Cleanse 简单助你深层净化内心 One way to clean out the clutter in our inner space is by guarding the garden of our mind. Being conscious of what we allow inside, starting with our own words, thoughts and attention. 清除内心杂乱的一种方法是，守卫我们思想的花园。从自己的言辞、想法和注意力开始，有意识地关注什么是被我们允许进入这花园的。 We may not be aware of this, but we spend so much energy on gossiping, bad mouthing other people, judging other people, finding faults in others, and consumed in negative thoughts like jealousy, guilt or fear, and making excuses to cover up how we actually feel. I know all this sounds really bad and exaggerated when it’s all laid out like this. But if we truly observe ourselves, our thoughts and our words, we will notice that at some point of everyday, however subtly or unconsciously, we are doing several of these things. 我们虽然可能没有意识到，但事实上已经在八卦、说别人坏话、评头论足、找茬以及嫉妒、内疚和恐惧等负面思想和掩饰真实情绪上花费了太多的精力。我知道这么说听上去很糟糕、很夸张，可当我们真正面对自己，观察我们的言行，我们发现某一天某一刻我们正在做这些事情，即便它非常微小或者无意识地。 I’m not pointing fingers, I can only speak from my own experience and confirm that this is true. Sometimes, the “violation” is subtle, like passing a negative judgment on a waiter at a restaurant, or becoming frustrated with a telephone customer service rep and wanting to call him a bad name, or making a little lie of an excuse instead of saying no. 我并不是在指责谁。我只是从我自身的经验出发并验证这是真实的。有些时候，这种“破坏”是很隐秘的，比如在餐馆里给服务生一个负面的评价，或者在电话客服代表那里受挫时想骂他，也可以是为了拒绝而撒了一个小谎。 It’s not that by having these thoughts or saying these words we become bad people. It’s just that these things become useless junk that clutters our inner space and does not contribute to our inner wellbeing. 并不是说这么想或者这么说就让我们变成坏人了，可这些都变成了让我们内在变得凌乱不堪的无用垃圾，而对我们内心康健毫无益处。
I had learned the following simple but incredibly effective technique from Swami Nithya Bhaktananda, spiritual counselor and direct disciple of Paramahamsa Nithyananda (Swamiji).以下这小窍门是我从Swami Nithya Bhaktananda 那里学来的，它简单却有效得让人难以置信。 Swami Nithya Bhaktananda是一位精神导师，师从Paramahamsa Nithyananda. Follow these four rules to inner cleanse: 学习这四条净化内心的法则： Say what you mean. Mean what you say. 1.说你的真实想法。真实你的说法。 Don’t say to anyone unless you can say to everyone. 2.除非你能告诉任何人，否则别告诉任何人。 Don’t say inside, what you cannot say outside.3.你对别人不能说的，也不要对你自己说。 Don’t say unless it is true, useful or kind. 4.只说真实的、有用的或者善意的。 I will expand on each rule in detail. If you want, you can print a wallet size of the 4 rules here: PDF | Word Doc 接下来我讲扩展说明每条法则。你可以在这里下载打印钱包大小的这四条法则。 The 4 Rules to Quiet the Mind – Explained 净化内心的四条法则之解释 1. Say what you mean. Mean what you say. 1.说你的真实想法。真实你的说话。 Part A: Say what you mean. A：说你的真实想法。 Have you found yourself making up excuses to avoid fully dealing with a potentially uncomfortable situation?你是否曾为避免有可能让你不舒服的情形而编造一些借口？ For example, your friend asks you to some social event. You don’t really want to go, but make up an excuse that “I can’t make it” or “I’m busy“, probably so you can quietly avoid something or someone or some activity. 比方说，你朋友邀请你参加某一社交活动。你只是不想去，却以“我有约了”或者“我最近很忙”之类的借口来搪塞，以逃避某事某人或某活动。 Another example, someone asks you for a favor that you do not wish to comply to, but you feel guilty for rejecting him, so you either avoid that person (ie. Ignoring emails or phone calls), or create an excuse that isn’t really true (ie. I am out of town.) 又比如，有人向你寻求帮助而你却不想答应。可是如果要拒绝他，你又感到愧疚。于是你要么躲开这个人（比如，忽略他的电子邮件或者电话），要么编一个不真实的借口（比如，我不在城里） It is not that you cannot do something, as your excuse suggests. The truth is that you have chosen not to do something, but the act of creating an excuse or avoiding it initiates a stir in your inner space, and it takes energy to maintain. Instead of stillness and peace, you are now holding onto and thinking about this little lingering “lie”. 从你的借口来看，并不是你没法做某事，而是你选择不去做。可是，编借口或者逃避这些行为搅乱了你的内心，甚至你还需要更多精力去圆谎。你会一直想着这个迟迟不肯离去的“谎言”而无法达到平静平和的心态。 When you are about to say anything, make a conscious decision to say the absolute truth, or what you actually mean. The absolute truth doesn’t have to be harsh or hurtful, you can do so compassionately and authentically, but firmly. When you own what you say, no one can reject it, even if they don’t like what they hear; because you are telling the truth and you mean it. 当你要说话的时候，要有意识的选择说真话，或者说，你实际上想表达的。真话并不必须是伤人的，你可以情真意切地说，但一定要坚定。当你主掌了你的话语权，即使别人不喜欢也没有人能反对它。因为你正在说真话并表达你想要表达的。 Part B: Mean what you say. B：真实你的说法 Sometimes we say things in passing out of obligation or habit that we don’t mean or intend on following through with. For example, we say, “I love you” to our parents or significant other when we hang up the phone, not because we mean it, but out of habit. The words comes so automatically now, that they start to lose their true meaning.有时候我们说话只是觉得应该说或者出于习惯，而非有真实意义的言语。比方说，我们会在电话里和父母或者某个重要的人说“我爱你”，并不因为我们真的想这么说，而是因为习惯。说话语言变得如此“自动”，以至于它们开始失去了真实的意义。 In another example, we will say, “I’ll call you soon“, “let’s chat soon“, or “I’ll call you tomorrow“. Or we offer to help, as parting words to a friend, and don’t intend on keeping that statement, but say it because it was easy and made the other person feel good. 又比如，我们会说“我马上打给你”“回头再聊”或者“我明天打电话给你”。也有时我们会问朋友要不要帮忙，可事实上并不真的这么想，只是因为这么说很容易并且让他人感觉良好。 We may think that these casual comments are harmless, but we know deep down that they are not true. They become little lies that we internalize, and over time they will develop into a guilty conscience that distracts you away from this moment. 你大概会觉得这些随意的话并不给任何人带来伤害，可是你也知道这些都不是真的。这些小谎言被我们内化，放在心里，随着时间的累积，它们变成了良心上的愧疚感，而这就把你带离了平静。 Make a conscious commitment to yourself to mean everything that you say, and not to make empty promises that you cannot, will not, do not intend to fulfill. 有意识地向你自己保证：说话算数，不开空头支票——那些你不能、不会、不打算兑现的。 2. Don’t say to anyone unless you can say to everyone. 2.除非你能告诉任何人，否则你别告诉任何人 Whether we admit to this or not, most of us love some form of gossiping (myself included). We are also quick to notice fault in others, and then talk about them with our trusted allies. Or we find out about someone’s misfortune and immediately we want to tell somebody.不管我们承认与否，我们大部分人都爱某种形式的八卦（包括我）。我们总是善于发现别人的错误再和好朋友嚼舌根。或者我们发现了某人的不幸，也会立即告诉别人。 I’m sure you can interject and include many examples from your life. But for sake of conversation, one example is: Jenny, at work, had an emotional fit and yelled at a co-worker today, and when we got home, we immediately told our spouse about the drama. 我相信你在这儿肯定能插上话并说上很多你生活中的例子。但为了行文，容我来说吧：比方说，今天工作时詹妮有了点情绪并对一个同事发火了，当我们回家后我们肯定会立刻告诉另一半这戏剧性的场面。 Another example, Pat was fired from his job, once we heard about it, we called or text-messaged our best friend Jane to tell her about it, or even exchange jokes about Pat, because we don’t like him. 又比如说，帕特被炒鱿鱼了，我们听到这个消息的第一时间就立刻打电话或者发短信把这事告诉我们最好的朋友简，因为我们不喜欢他，我们甚至开始以此开帕特的玩笑。 In both examples, we cannot repeat the same things to everyone, especially Jenny or Pat. And if we really observed our inner space during and after we said these things, we wouldn’t feel very good in our stomach.以上两例中，我们不会告诉所有人，尤其是詹妮和帕特。而如果我们认真观察自己的内心世界在八卦时和八卦后的心态，大概自己也觉得有点恶心了。 When we consciously observe such a conversation, we learn that we have accomplished nothing that feeds our soul. All we did was spread drama and created negative energy and inner conflict that polluted our inner space. 当我们有意观察这样的对话，不难发现我们其实没做什么充实自己的事。我们所做的只是传播八卦、浪费精力并制造搅乱内心的内在矛盾。 Make a commitment to yourself, that you will not say something to one person, unless you can announce it to the world, to everybody. Make a commitment to stop the spreading of drama and bad energy. 向你自己保证：除非是你能向全世界任何人说宣布的话，否则你就别对任何说。向你自己保证：你不会再传播八卦和坏话。 3. Don’t say inside, what you cannot say outside. 3.不能对别人说的，也别对自己说。 Most of us are extremely critical of ourselves. Because we would never tell the world what we say to ourselves, in the privacy of our mind, we believe that we are the only ones affected by negative self-talk, low self-esteem, and anxiety. 大部分人对自己都很严苛。因为我们从不会告诉别人我们在心里对自己说的话，所以我们觉得我们是世界上唯一那个被自己的负面想法、自卑和焦虑影响的人。 When something doesn’t go perfectly, we are first to blame ourselves, criticizing what we did wrong, what we didn’t do perfect enough, what we missed. 事情不那么顺利的时候，我们总是先责备自己，批评自己哪里做错了、哪里不够完美、又漏掉了哪些细节。 We all have inner chattering, but problems arise when we start to believe in our inner chattering, such that false beliefs about ourselves are formed. These false beliefs become detrimental to our spirits and future wellbeing, unless we do something to unlearn these beliefs. 谁都有内心独白，但当我们开始无条件相信它的时候问题就来了，比如说那些关于自己的错误想法。这些错误的想法对我们精神和未来的成功有害无益，除非我们能忘掉它们。 Next time, you hear the voice in your head say “I’m stupid” or “I’m not good enough” or “I am a failure” or other related self-defeating thoughts, recognize that it is not you. You could verbally say, “That’s not me! That’s not true!” and even declare the following to this thought, 下次你又发现你自己说“我真蠢”“我不够好”“我太失败了”或者别的打击自己的话的时候，坚定这并不是你。你可以嘴上说出来，“那不是我！这不是真的！”。 “From today forward, I choose to let you go, for you are no longer serving me. I am exposing you, for you are not real! From today onward, I am free from you.” “从今以后，我要让你滚，你不用再服侍我了。我发现你是个假货！从今天起，我摆脱你了！” The basic premise of the third rule to inner cleanse is that, whatever thought you are not able to say out aloud to people (anyone), don’t even bother entertaining inside your head. Keep your inner space clean. 净化内心的第三法则必要前提是，任何你无法大声告诉别人（任何人）的话，也别在你脑袋里困扰自己。保持你内心的清净。 4. Don’t say unless it is true, useful or kind.4.只说真实、有用、和善的话。 Some people have so much inner chatter that it spills out of them in the form of useless speech. 有些人内心独白太多了以致它们以无用的话语外在表现出来。 Observe the people who talk on buses, or love to chitchat at work by the water fountain. If you observe and count the number of things they say that are actually useful or truly interesting, it would be a low number. 观察在公车上讲话或者喜欢工作时饮水机边闲聊的人。如果你数一下他们说的话里真正有用或者有趣的事情，数量肯定很低。 Not only is this distracting for those around this person, it takes an enormous amount of energy for this person to keep talking. Recall the last time you talked for a long time about something random, and how drained you felt afterwards. Plus, the more useless things we say, the more useless things we feed back into our head. 这不仅分散了周围人的注意力，持续说话也耗费了此人的大量精力。回忆一下上次你长时间闲聊时的情景以及之后你有多渴吧。此外，我们说了越多无用的事，也就有越多无用的事返回给我们的大脑。 If you feel that I’ve described you, don’t feel discouraged. I’ve been there too, and can contest that it is possible to quiet down. 你如果觉得我说得就是你，别沮丧。我也曾这样，并且可以告诉你这是可以克服的。 Some people practice sabbatical days where they don’t speak at all, or read, or use the computer. And at the end of such a day, they feel a tremendous sense of peace, space and energy bubbling inside them.有些人在不用说话的休假时练习，或阅读，或使用电脑。一天结束的时候，他们感到无比平静清净而充满力量。 Be conscious of what you say and only say it if any of the following is true: 关注你的言辞且仅当一下某一条为真时才说： Is what I’m saying … 我说的是否： True to me? An authentic statement from my heart? 1.对我而言是真实的？是发自内心的想法？ Useful or helpful to someone or some situation? 2.对某人或某事是有帮助的？ Kind or compassionate? Such as a compliment, or an offer of help? 3.是友善的、真心实意的？称赞，或者提供帮助？ Parting Words: On Quieting The Mind 尾声：净化内心 This post was born out of 4 simple sentences someone gave me a few months ago. After practicing it in my own life, I’ve come to the conclusion that if you give this simple 4-line guidance a try for 21 days, you will notice a beautiful inner transformation – from noise to stillness, from chaos to clarity. 这一博文基于几个月前别人告诉我句话展开。在我自己亲身实践之后，我认为只要你能按这四条法则来指导你的生活21天，你将会意识到一个美丽的内心变化——从烦躁到平静，从杂乱到清明。 It may seem difficult at first, but do it consistently and consciously for 3 days and it becomes much easier after that. Extend it to 7 days, and then to 21 days. Please do not kick yourself for slipping on the rules, it happens, let it go. 一开始也许会有些困难，可有意识坚持三天以后事情就变得简单多了。再是7天，再是21天。不要因为有时没有遵守法则而惩罚你自己，如果发生了就忘了它并继续遵守法则。 After some time, observe how your outer world changes, as your inner world is transformed. Please come back and share with us. 一段时间以后，当你内心有了变化后观察你周围的外在世界如何改变。请回过头来和我们分享。 One more thing: Let your heart guide you. Trust it, and listen to it. 此外：让你的心来帮助你。信任它，听从它。 |
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