Adventures with Ideas: Truth, Beauty and the Paradoxes of Life
Juliet Bennett's Blog
  • About
  • My Story
  • Research
  • Photography
  • Modeling
  • 2009
  • 2010
  • 2011
  • 2012
  • 2013
  • 2014
  • 2015
  • About
  • My Story
  • Research
  • Photography
  • Modeling
  • 2009
  • 2010
  • 2011
  • 2012
  • 2013
  • 2014
  • 2015
  • Home
  • Academic
  • Thoughts, actions, habits, destiny

Thoughts, actions, habits, destiny

4 Mar ’14 Leave a Comment Written by Juliet Bennett

In yoga last week my teacher drew attention to our thoughts. She said something along the lines of “our thoughts become our actions, our actions become our habits, our habits become our character, and our character determines our destiny.”

This related to my current research project that is looking at connections between narratives and peace (which I have been madly trying to finish for the last year, hence the lack of blogging…)

Our thoughts are made up of narratives. Because we live in time, we fundamentally understand our selves and the world through story.

These narratives might also be thought of as constructing our “worldview”—that is, these stories are fundamental to the way that we see the world.

Our stories impact on our values, which impacts our thoughts and our actions, which collectively bring about experiences of peace, conflict and violence throughout the world.

It is a rather long chain of connections, which makes it difficult to research and explain… but exploring these connections is important. It is by drawing these connections that we can consider how our actions can bring about the most desirable destiny.

I’ll share more about my research some other time. Here I want to focus on the words of my teacher. I figured she got them from somewhere, and Google pointed to two people: Lao Tzu and Margaret Thatcher (whaaaaat??!)

The original quote was (obviously) the former. Lao Tzu wrote:

“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.”

The Thatcher quote reads:

“Watch your thoughts for they become words.
Watch your words for they become actions.
Watch your actions for they become habits.
Watch your habits for they become your character.
And watch your character for it becomes your destiny.
What we think, we become.
My father always said that… and I think I am fine.”

Whether Thatcher actually said that, and whether her father informed her that these words are from ancient China, who knows…

Regardless, as we go about our day let us observe our thoughts, our words, our actions, our habits and our character, and see if we might bring about a more peaceful, just and sustainable destiny then the one Thatcher’s thoughts have worked to bring about.

Sydney

Building bridges on Sydney Harbour. Taken by Jonny Gloss at Aqua Club on 8 Feb 2014.

Academic
Bridge Series, peace
Similar posts
  • Why the right (brain) is right… — Are you a right-brain or left-brain type of person? Is there such a thing? Are there differences between our left and right brain hemispheres? Does it matter? Research into the left and right brain hemispheres was popularised in the 1970s, it exaggerated and reified the two sides of the brain as if some people were “right-brain” dominant: creative, image-based, intuitive, emotional; and other people [...]
  • Alan Watts’ ‘dramatic model’ and the ... — My latest academic publication – on the work of my favourite philosopher of all time: Alan Watts, and how his “dramatic model of the universe” can contribute to peace 🙂 Abstract This article explores the contribution of Alan Watts’ ‘dramatic model of the universe’ to the pursuit of peace. It locates Watts’ critique of dominant Western worldviews alongside process philosophers, ecologists and [...]
  • “Seizing an Alternative: Toward... — After two years of anticipation, in June this year I attended a conference called “Seizing an Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization”, which brought together many of my favourite scholars. I was like a teenager anticipating a music festival with all their favourite bands. Such a geek! Around 2000 people attended the conference from around the world, splitting into 12 sections [...]
  • A Wattsian Message of Happiness for 2... — In 1940, as the Second World War began its violence, a 25-year old Alan Watts published a book called The Meaning of Happiness. Its subtitle was the quest for freedom of the spirit in modern psychology and the wisdom of the East. This book shares the same essential message of  countless books, articles and lectures that followed: you are not [...]
  • Global wealth pyramid – Credit ... — If your total wealth is over 1 million dollars you are in the top 0.5% of the global wealth pyramid. If you have between 100k and 1m, you are in the top 7.5%. If you have somewhere between 10k and 100k, you are still in the top third of the global pyramid. If you own over 50 million dollars worth [...]
Thoughts on a morning walk
The end of a world, and the start of a new one

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

TRUTH

BEAUTY

ADVENTURE

ART

PEACE

  • Popular
  • Recent
  • Comments
  • Is “God” a Fractal?
    15 Feb ’11
  • Is Lindt chocolate slave chocolate?
    11 Sep ’09
  • Creativism – a philosophy for life
    10 Sep ’09
  • Free Documentaries: The Truth Is Free
    17 Apr ’10
  • Coming to grips with the elephant in the room
    28 Jun ’10
  • Optimum Trajectory, swimming against the current, and man who stare at goats.
    4 Aug ’10
  • A short biography
    2 Sep ’09
  • Sex or chess? Peace, the world’s trump card
    13 Apr ’10
  • Alan Watts Fan Club
    3 Dec ’12
  • The Very Short Life and Times of Me and Kombi Xee
    23 Feb ’11
  • Business leadership in climate change
    1 May ’19
  • A story of (mis)fortune: the farmer and his son
    8 Oct ’18
  • What is life really about?
    1 Mar ’17
  • Why the right (brain) is right…
    22 Feb ’17
  • New life: reflections on being a new mum
    29 Dec ’16
  • Orwellian Australia: the “[Un]Fairer Parental Leave Bill 2015”
    1 May ’16
  • Alan Watts’ ‘dramatic model’ and the pursuit of peace
    18 Mar ’16
  • A new lens to view the world: the world as process
    14 Jan ’16
  • 2015 in review
    1 Jan ’16
  • “Seizing an Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization”
    18 Sep ’15
  • Rachel says
    A Sufi story I Loved reading this, hopeful and realistic at the sam..
  • Motewolonisq Art says
    I have had love for this post in 2012. Since then, my mind has expan..
  • Ricardo Eguia Valderrama says
    Cuando se tiene conciencia del espacio-tiempo (miles de millones de ..
  • Juliet Bennett says
    Hi Desmond, sadly, I did not get an answer to my last email :(
  • Juliet Bennett says
    Thanks Alexander! Very much Watts-inspired, but I believe I put them..
  • Juliet Bennett says
    Hi Molefe, I'm still on this journey of learning! You could start wi..
  • alexander Kesselaar says
    Accept your self, just as you are. Accept the world, just as it is...
  • molefe phillip seshabela says
    my name is Molefe phillip Seshabela,i am 34 year old , from Limpopo ..
  • Desmond Sequeira says
    From another lover of Lndt chocolate: Just read your blog on Lindt ..
  • Daftar Tembak Ikan says
    Hi there, yup this paragraph is genuinely nice and I have learned lo..

Adventures with Ideas... on Facebook

Archives

Categories

  • Academic (35)
  • Adventure (119)
  • Beauty (23)
  • Featured Posts (10)
  • Peace (124)
  • Random Life Stuff (101)
  • Truth (164)
Constitutional Recognition

Rights of Indigenous Peoples: A Personal Statement

As a "non-indigenous" Australian living on what was once the land of the Cadigal and Wangal Wangal communities, I wish to acknowledge the inter-generational responsibility that I feel toward the colonial past. As a beneficiary of "White Australia", to the Eora people of Sydney, I request your forgiveness. I stand in solidarity with your rightful demands to self determination and active participation in governmental decisions, and I hope I may learn from your eco-spiritual connection. May we, as Tom Trevorrow of the Ngarrindjeri puts it, learn to 'respect, care and share' the gifts that our planet offers us.

Tags

Alan Watts Atheism Big History Bridge Series Central America Chocolate climate change Conflict Transformation Creativism Ecology Europe God Health India India/Nepal inspiration Life in Oz Life philosophy Meaning of life Modeling My Brazilian My Christian Journey Narrative Narratology Occupy optimal trajectory Panentheism peace philosophy Photography Politics population Potentialism poverty religion slavery social construction South America The Pyramid Travel United States War What is God Wikileaks Yoga

Related posts

  • Bridge Series
    • Alchemy
    • Circles in the Land of Angles
    • Building more bridges… backbends in Europe
  • peace
    • Creativism – a philosophy for life
    • Coming to grips with the elephant in the room
    • Sex or chess? Peace, the world’s trump card
    • Empowering women & the role of men
    • Preserving “The Pyramid” – the reason things are the way they are…

Donation

evolve theme by Theme4Press  •  Powered by WordPress