The Enlightened Response: Create the Life You Want - Moment to Moment, Choice by Choice

"We often rush through the moment to get to the joy. If we choose to stop and fully experience the moment we will find the joy is already present." Could enlightened responses stop war and conflict? In the world, the office, in relationships? Life is a fast ride, but "The Enlightened Response" hands you the controls. This text demonstrates how you create your life, moment to moment, choice by choice. We can only change - creating better relationships, better health, more happiness and more wealth - if we know what we're changing. This is a book about observation - self-observation. It teaches us to carefully watch our own lives and behaviour so that we understand what works and what doesn't - what causes us to be happy or sad; calm or stressed; peaceful or angry. Once we have this storehouse of information, we should then be able to choose responses that bring us what we do want and avoid what we don't want, in every aspect of our lives. Ross Page calls these choices "enlightened responses", and they are based on self-knowledge and awareness - made with conscious choice, not out of habit. Beginning with simple observations of daily chores, self-observation can also bring us instant moments of peace. When we are totally focused on an activity in the present, we cannot possibly be haunted by the past or anxious about the future. Stress is completely banished. We can then consciously extend these moments into hours and eventually create a life of enlightened responses instead of strings of "knee-jerk" reactions. "The Enlightened Response" aims to help us fine-tune the tools we already possess to maximize our potential for living a happy and rewarding life. First, hit the "pause" button - look at what you've got, consider what you're offered, and choose an "enlightened response".

Table of Contents:
Introduction: why choose enlightened responses?; how to read this book; and what is the common theme?; and in your life; in 30 words or less. Part I Self observation - in principle: challenges; one method; what is self observation?; there's no such thing as a bad day; happiness - a natural or induced state?; fitting a pause button; the three E's of life. Part II Expectation: to-ing and fro-ing; hope; change your expectations and change your life. Part III the creative power of expectation: awareness as a creative tool; adults can dream too; levels of expectation; awareness and the five levels; creatively expecting the future; practising creative expectation; a dream without a plan is just a wish; creating success - an antidote to stress?; smarter goal-setting; creating success using enlightened responses. Part IV The Event: facts v perceptions; how much do I really know?; perception; respond v react; developing awareness is a skill that can be learned. Part V The Evaluation: thought evaluation system; judgement and our chemical factory; the enlightened response technique. Part VI Awareness: famous quotes on thinking; mind management; so how do I keep my mind from wandering?; there is very little stress in the present moment. Part VII Self Observation - in real life: where do I start?; be aware of your breathing; choosing a focus for your observations; environmental observation. Part VIII Observation Scripts: basic environmental observation; real Life scripts; mantras and chanting; object focus; visualizations; for couples. Part IX Creating Stress - an inside job: it's an inside job; what is stress?; main causes of human stress; is it all an illusion?; do we need stress?; a simple solution. Part X Lifestyle Matters: the holistic wheel of health; creating your own holistic wheel of health; learning from your wheel. Part XI Belonging: who am I and where do I belong?; so, what's the lesson in all this? Part XII Personality: common behaviours; maybe awareness can lead to change; doesn't everyone think like me?; personality assessment systems; the enneagram; instinctual, emotional and mental; famous enneagram types; learning from other types; overview of how our personalities are created. Part XIII Creating Peace in my Relationships: what can I expect from my relationships?; expecting the perfect partner; the 4-2-1 view of relationships. Part XIV What is an Enlightened Response?: reactions, responses and enlightened responses; general expectations; possible choices. Part XV And finally: the enlightened response suite of workshops; Ross Page - life, learning and highlights.