The Eight Guiding Principles of Glorious Living!

1. Develop your own awareness of what is beneficial (virtuous view)
2. Align your thoughts to what is beneficial (virtuous thinking)
3. Speak truth with responsibility (virtuous speech)
4. Avoid causing harm to self and others (virtuous action)
5. Live your ideals each day and in every way (virtuous livelihood)
6. Work hard to improve (virtuous effort)
7. Hold evenness in thought and action (virtuous concentration)
8. Be mindful of your impact on others (virtuous mindfulness)

With these in mind you are reading to take the first steps to Glorious Living!

Taking a first step

Our lives are composed of innumerable actions: smiling, eating, sleeping, working, walking, talking etc. How many of these lead to happiness and how many are just distractions which lead to stress?

All actions are either beneficial or harmful. Either you are contributing towards benefit or exacting harm. Nothing we do or think is neutral. By eliminating harmful thoughts and actions and adopting beneficial ones you can sow the seeds for your own happiness.

• Transform stress and excess into relaxation through energy, ease and enjoyment — Enjoy.
  
• Transform confusion and ignorance into wisdom through learning — Learn.
  
• Transform apathy and selfishness into compassionate caring through service — Serve.
  
• Transform greed and fear into giving and graciousness through leaving worthy legacies for others — Bestow.
  

It is necessary to re-program your thought process that have been conditioned out of habit and which are not contributing to your overall happiness.

To reprogram follow the prompts:

First question - What is beneficial?
Reflect on what you consider to be beneficial. Don’t just consider yourself but also consider what is beneficial to others.

First Choice – Do you choose to be harmful or choose to be helpful?

First Acceptance – Can you be less harmful and of greater benefit?
This should be readily acceptable as not only doable but absolutely essential to one’s own spiritual development. Even without the notion of spiritual existence, the preference for happiness over suffering is universal in all living things. All life seeks to avoid receiving pain and suffering only humans can choose to moderate their behaviors to reduce their harmful aspects.

First Evaluation- What can you do to be less harmful and more beneficial?
What are you doing now that might be creating harm to yourself or others? Can you reduce or eliminate these negative impacts?
Consider what you are doing that is creating benefit for yourself and others, what can you do to enhance this even more? What else can you do to create more positive benefits to yourself and others?

First Step- What will you do next?
Start by making a list of beneficial behaviors and try to integrate them into your daily routine. I have created 365 daily disciplines to align with the Four Gardens of Glorious Living!, Learn, Serve, Enjoy, Bestow.
For an example of some of these please go to the sample chapter section of this website.