Christmas feast, New Year fast

Another year lies before us like a blank page. What shall we write? More of the same or something new?
To write something new, we must first want it. We must want it so much that we are willing to change our sacred habits to get it. We have to reach that ‘tipping point’ where the dubious pleasures of staying in a certain bad habit are overcome by our desire for something else. We must imagine our new goal. Dream it. See it. Pray for it. Ask for it. Believe it. Think about it all the time. Only then will our subconscious get the message and make it appear. We will act in new ways as our subconscious prods us in the direction of our new blueprint.
Our subconscious will also make us notice new opportunities that were always there but to which we were previously blind. One of my goals for the coming year is to improve my health and vitality. With my recent sickness (bronchitis) I had emphatically reached the tipping point that had been building for a while. And whilst browsing a website called The Habit Code I came across Ways to eliminate bad habits and a comment about fasting being helpful in this regard. I already knew something about the ancient time-proven physical and spiritual benefits of fasting but had I not had it in my mind that I wanted to improve my health I probably would never have noticed the comment. Now my subconscious seized upon it, virtually waving it in my face and saying ‘This is what we need’.
So I am starting off the New Year with a fast. Ain’t I the life of the party?

I fast for greater physical and mental efficiency. Plato

Everyone has a doctor in him or her; we just have to help it in its work. The natural healing force within each of us is the greatest force in getting well. Our food should be our medicine. Our medicine should be our food. But to eat when you are sick, is to feed your sickness. Hippocrates

Fasting is the greatest remedy – the physician within! Paracelsus

To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals. The best of all medicines is rest and fasting. Benjamin Franklin

Fasting is the world's most ancient and natural healing mechanism.
Fasting triggers a truly wondrous cleansing process that reaches right down to each and every cell and tissue in the body. Within 24 hours of curtailing food intake, enzymes stop entering the stomach and travel instead into the intestines and into the bloodstream, where they circulate and gobble up all sorts of waste matter, including dead and damaged cells, unwelcome microbes, metabolic wastes, and pollutants.
All organs and glands get a much-needed and well-deserved rest, during which their tissues are purified and rejuvenated and their functions balanced and regulated. The entire alimentary canal is swept clean. By rebuilding immunity, health is naturally restored and disease disappears.If health and immunity are thereafter conscientiously maintained, the individual is no longer vulnerable to disease and dieting become unnecessary. Surely one of the most overlooked and yet most valuable modes of healing that will be rediscovered in the future of the new medicine is the fast. This is because of the increasing interest in looking to oneself for healing powers. For the fast is an inward process and cannot be entered upon only from an outer approach with any expectation of a lasting benefit. The person must invariably be involved with the overall results. This therapeutic encounter is in direct contrast to the usual non-involvement in the physician-directed, disease-oriented medical practice of today. Evart Loomis M.D.

Habit - according to the Ancients

Once again I go through the exercise of compiling what the ancients had to say about a particular virtue or vice as compared with our more contemporary lights. And once again we can see that there is nothing new under the sun. Our emotions may have different hooks to hang their hats on today, but the emotions are still the same. Men have the same basic fears and desires today as they had thousands of years ago. That is why ancient texts often speak to us as though they were written yesterday.
In the following quotes we can see that habit held no secrets for the ancients. They knew its great power for good and for evil. We can also understand that each generation has to relearn the same wisdom of their forefathers, either through the school of hard knocks or the school of philosophy… if we learn it at all.

Habit had made the custom. Ovid

Nothing is stronger than habit. Ovid

Powerful indeed is the empire of habit. Syrus

Habit is stronger than nature. Quintus Curtius Rufus

Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts. Marcus Aurelius.

Pursuits become habits. Ovid

Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way. Aristotle

Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts. Aristotle

The moral virtues, then, are produced in us neither by nature nor against nature. Nature, indeed, prepares in us the ground for their reception, but their complete formation is the product of habit. Aristotle

Character is simply habit long continued. Plutarch

Good habits result from resisting temptation. Ancient proverb

Habit, if not resisted, soon becomes necessity. Saint Augustine

Where evil habits are once settled, they are more easily broken than mended. Quintilian

Nothing is in reality either pleasant or unpleasant by nature; but all things become so through habit. Epictetus

Great is the power of habit. It teaches us to bear fatigue and to despise wounds and pain. Cicero

To things which you bear with impatience you should accustom yourself, and, by habit you will bear them well. Seneca

Men's natures are alike; it is their habits that separate them. Confucius

Habit - the power of the Dark Side

As we saw in Habit – the way to character and Habit – using the Force habit is a power that we can either use consciously for our own benefit or ignore - in which case it may become a power with a darker nature, a power that can take our lives in directions we do not choose.

Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters. Nathaniel Emmons

Habit is the most imperious (think Darth Vader) of all masters. Goethe

Recently I took to eating a piece of chocolate with my morning coffee when at home on my days off. Then 2 pieces. Before I was aware of it, I was throwing a bar of chocolate in my shopping basket every week instead of once in a blue moon. In no time I had gained 5 pounds.

Habits are formed, not at one stroke, but gradually and insensibly; so that, unless vigilant care be employed, a great change may come over the character without our being conscious of any. Archbishop Richard Whately

And the worst thing is, eating a piece of chocolate having become a habit, it was no longer a treat. I no longer enjoyed it in the same way. And it was surprisingly boring to give the habit up. I give this simple case as an example but there are many others that I can think of, and I am sure you can too, with more far-reaching effects on our lives than a few extra inches of love handle.

Habits are at first cobwebs, then cables. Spanish Proverb

The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. Samuel Johnson

Bad habits are easier to abandon today than tomorrow. Yiddish Proverb

Habit and routine have an unbelievable power to waste and destroy. Henri de Lubac

Therefore, know the power of habit, its power for good and its power for evil. You can no longer say you did not know. Watch your actions, your daily routines, especially new ones. Consciously choose your habits and the end results that go with them. And may the Force be with you.

Habit is a man's sole comfort. We dislike doing without even unpleasant things to which we have become accustomed. Goethe

The habit of virtue cannot be formed in a closet. Habits are formed by acts of reason in a persevering struggle through temptation. Bernard Gilpin

To fall into a habit is to begin to cease to be. Miguel de Unamuno

Could the young but realize how soon they will become mere walking bundles of habits, they would give more heed to their conduct while in the plastic state. William James

Beware of fixing habits in a child. Robert Hall

If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong. Charles F. Kettering

Habit is the nursery of errors. Victor Hugo

The second half of a man's life is made up of nothing but the habits he has acquired during the first half. Feodor Dostoevski

Centres, or centre-pieces of wood, are put by builders under an arch of stone while it is in the process of construction till the keystone is put in. Just such is the use Satan makes of pleasures to construct evil habits upon; the pleasure lasts till the habit is fully formed; but that done the habit may stand eternal. The pleasures are sent for firewood, and the hell begins in this life. Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Habit - using the Force

Use makes master. Practice makes perfect. The power of habit is what all training attempts to harness. What we do repeatedly, day in day out we not only do well, but we do it easily. Without thinking. This can be seen for example in military training. The goal of military training among other things is to make habitual the desired reaction in life-threatening, stressful situations. It is not easy to shoot someone. It goes against the grain, usually. But a recruit is so drilled throughout his training that when the time comes he shoots without a second thought. This is perhaps an extreme example of the power of habit.
I am reminded of a couple of stories in the Zen tradition. In ‘Zen in the Art of Archery’, Eugen Herrigel recounts how he had difficulty drawing a certain bow. The Master took the bow and drew it several times and gave it back to him. Herrigel then found the bow easier to draw. Some of the Master’s power seemed to have ‘rubbed off’ on the bow.
In another Zen story, a samurai with little experience of the sword was challenged to a duel. In a panic, he sought help from a sword master. The sword master, knowing there was little time for training, took the samurai to the place where the duel was to be fought the next day. He drew his sword and with a great roar, made a furious charge and slashing stroke at an imaginary opponent. He then told the samurai to stand in his footprints tomorrow and charge in the same way following his footprints in the sand and making the same stroke. The next day the samurai did as the sword master had said and struck his opponent down dead with one blow.
Such is the power of training, of habit: even someone else’s that is ‘lent’ to us.

Habit is ten times nature. Duke of Wellington

Habituation puts to sleep the eye of our judgment. Montaigne

If we look back upon the usual course of our feelings, we shall find that we are more influenced by the frequent recurrence of objects than by their weight and importance; and that habit has more force in forming our characters than our opinions have. The mind naturally takes its tone and complexion from what it habitually contemplates. Robert Hall

It's not what you do once in a while, it's what you do day in and day out that makes the difference. Jenny Craig

When we have practiced good actions awhile they become easy; when they are easy we take pleasure in them; when they please us we do them frequently; and then, by frequency of act they grow into habit. Tilloyson

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. Jim Ryun

Habit - the way to character

When I decided to create this blog, my goal was to share the philosophy that helped me get through bad times. I was and am only interested in ‘nuts and bolts’ philosophy, ‘practical’ philosophy, stuff that when you read it you say ‘Aha!’ or ‘That’s right! That is something I can use right now!’ I have no use for obtuse philosophical discussions on ‘the self’ and so on that you often find and associate with philosophy. I am in full agreement with the Buddha on this:

However many holy words you read,
However many you speak,
What good will they do you
If you do not act on upon them?

Holy words, good philosophy can lift our thoughts and inspire us to ‘change our mind’. This not only makes us feel better but in effect changes our destiny as we act in new ways:

Thoughts lead on to purposes; purposes go forth in action; actions form habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny. Tryon Edwards

To learn new habits is everything, for it is to reach the substance of life. Life is but a tissue of habits. Henri-Frederic Amel

As I researched what others have said about habit, I realised the significance and power, the very great significance and the very great power, that habit has over our lives.

Habit is stronger than nature. Quintus Curtius Rufus

Habit is second nature, or rather, ten times nature. William James

Habit is the deepest law of human nature. Thomas Carlyle

Habit is stronger than reason. George Santayana

Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters. Nathaniel Emmons

Habit is the most imperious of all masters. Goethe

Habit is necessary to give power. William Hazlitt

But we hardly ever consciously realise the power of habit, still less consciously use habit to our advantage. Not only can good habits be formed as a ‘by-product’ of being inspired, but we can consciously, knowingly choose to ingrain a good characteristic and hence a destiny through repeated acts, through choosing to adopt an appropriate habit:

Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts. Aristotle

Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way. Aristotle

Acts of virtue ripen into habits; and the goodly and permanent result is the formation or establishment of a virtuous character. Thomas Chalmers

And when through ignorance or lack of awareness we do not choose our habits, when we let habits form willy-nilly, then we relinquish control of our characters and our lives to forces within and without more or less favourable to our cause:

In truth, the only difference between those who have failed and those who have succeeded lies in the difference of their habits. Good habits are the key to all success. Bad habits are the unlocked door to failure. Thus, the first law I will obey, which precedes all others, is - I will form good habits and become their slaves. Og Mandino

Man becomes a slave to his constantly repeated acts. What he at first chooses, at last compels. Orison Swett Marden

So, do we consciously choose to our habit so that it becomes our servant or do we unconsciously let our habit form as it will so that it becomes our master?

Habit, if wisely and skilfully formed, becomes truly a second nature; but unskilfully and unmethodically depicted, it will be as it were an ape of nature, which imitates nothing to the life, but only clumsily and awkwardly. Francis Bacon

Cultivate only the habits that you are willing should master you. Elbert Hubbard

A nail is driven out by another nail. Habit is overcome by habit. Desiderius Erasmus

Habits are the daughters of action; but they nurse their mothers, and give birth to daughters after her image, more lovely and prosperous. Jeremy Taylor

When you choose a habit, you also choose the end (destiny) of that habit. Zig Ziglar
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Photo by Magyar Balazs from Wikimedia: Aikido ‘four direction throw’ with standing attacker and seated defender

First we make our habits, and then ...

In sickness, my thoughts turn to health, mortality, and the desirability of certain changes in my lifestyle. I have noticed, and sickness thrusts the issue in one’s face, that as I get older I am more set in my ways, even if those ways are bad for me. Even though I am convinced of a change I have to make, I find it harder to make the first step.
I must remember William James’ phrase:

Sow a thought, reap an action,
Sow an action, reap a habit,
Sow a habit, reap a destiny.

I know that the key to change is in creating new habits to replace the lifestyle habits we wish to change. I find inspiration in these quotes:

We first make our habits, and then our habits make us. John Dryden

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle

Choose the life that is most useful, and habit will make it the most agreeable. Francis Bacon

We are what we think, as the Buddha and many others agree. So we must make sure that we think well. We must think high, positive, great thoughts. We must banish low thoughts, doubt, fear and discouragement. This is where philosophy can help us. But we must not spend our time only thinking great thoughts, we must put our thoughts into action. We must build good habits of action. And then the power of habit will work for us and not against us.

Weak is he who allows his thoughts to control his actions.
Strong is he who makes his actions control his thoughts. Confucius

Then our habits will make us what we thought of in the first place. Let us take the first step ...