COMPENDIUM OF AWARENESS

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COMPENDIUM OF AWARENESS – (ELIJAH ONYENMERIOGU – 2015)

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A Compendium Of Awareness Was Written By Elijah Onyenmeriogu In 2015. It Is A Book Of

Knowledge That Offers A Valid And Well-Reasoned Opinion To The Populace. It Is A Constructive

Criticism, Which Tells You Both What Is Wrong And Also What To Do About It, Of Which Every

Reader Must Be Filled With Enchantment And

Encouragement. Obviously, There Is No Word That Has Not Been Spoken, Neither Is There Any

Advice That Has Not Been Advised, But In Addition To These Was This Book Written.

SECTION ONE:

The gifts we are born with and those that we work to develop throughout our lives vary in form and

function. Some we find use for every day while others are only useful in specific circumstances. Yet

many times we overlook

opportunities to share our unique gifts with others. It may be fear of criticism that

holds us back or the paralyzing weight of uncertainty. Ultimately, we doubt that our

innate talents and practiced skills can truly add value to other’s lives. But it is the world as a whole

that benefits when we willingly share our gifts. Whether you have been

blessed with the ability to awaken beautiful emotions in others through art or industry, or your

aptitudes transmit more practical advantages, your gifts are a part of who you are. As you make use

of those gifts as best you can, be assured that your contribution

to worldly well-being will not be overlooked. Your personal power is defined in part by your gifts. To

use your talents is to demonstrate to the world that you understand yourself and are truly attuned

to your capabilities. Your earthly

existence provides you with ample opportunity to explore your purpose, to utilize your

skills in a life-affirming way, and to positively touch the lives of others while doing so. Yet you may

feel that your gifts are not as valuable or worthy of attention as those of others and thus hide them

away. However, every gift lying dormant in your soul has the potential to fill a void in someone else’s

life. Just as your existence is made richer by the love, support, friendship, aid, and compassion of

others, so, you also can add richness to their lives. Your natural ability to comfort hurt, inspire

compassion, bake, dance, knit, organize, or think outside the box can be a boon to someone in need.

As you embrace your gifts and

allow their light to shine, you will discover that more and more opportunities to make

use of them arise. This is because your gifts are a channel through which the universe operates. By

simply doing what you are good at

and also love to do, you make a positive difference. The recognition you receive for your efforts will

pale in comparison to the satisfaction you feel when fulfilling your innate potential.

GOOD AND PERFECT GIFT

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the

heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17) When Jesus came to earth

as a man and suffered and died on the cross so that you could be reconciled to God, He had you in

mind, even though He had not created you yet. (Acts 17:24-27 NIV)

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth

and does not live in temples

built by hands. {25} And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything,

because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. {26} From one man he made

every nation of men, that they

should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the

exact places where they should live. {27} God did this so that men would seek him and possibly

reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. (Ephesians 4:7-8 NKJV) But

to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. {8} Therefore He says:

“When He

ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” The greatest gift God gave to you

was Himself, the greatest gift you can give God is yourself. The reason God gave you life is so that

you would have something

precious to give back to Him. The reason God gave you more than you need is so

that you would have to give to those who do not have. Today, our downfall is that we don’t testifies

the good work of God when it comes, the way we contradicts and criticises in the hard time. Our

God is full of compassion and He loves to give, God is thinking about you

continuously all day and night, He is constantly giving to you, every breath you take is a gift from

God. (Psalms 139:17-18) How

precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable! {18} I can’t

even count them; they outnumber the grains of

sand! And when I wake up in the morning, you are still with me! (Lamentations 3:21-24) Yet this I call

to mind and therefore I have hope: {22} Because of the Lord’s great love we are not

consumed, for his compassions never fail. {23}

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. {24} I say to myself, “The

LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” When you give to other people it causes the

presence of God to flow through you

in compassion, compassion is love in action; compassion is the presence of the Holy Spirit. There are

many ways to give; you can give physical substance for a person’s physical needs. You can give

words of comfort or

encouragement for a person’s emotional needs.

But best of all you can give to a person is spiritual needs; one way is to give prayer for

a person, which can meet all needs. You can intercede for the person at the throne of

Grace, in front of the mercy seat, before the God of compassion. You can also feed someone’s

spiritual need by giving him or her the Bread of Life, the Word of God. The gospel, the good news

that God loves

them and has provided a way for them to enter into the kingdom of heaven, and even better than

that they can be friends with the King.

Give to the poor and the poor in spirit, give them the gospel, the good news about

Jesus. Jesus said in (Luke 4:18-19) “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me

To preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To

proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are

oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” “For as the rain comes down,

and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it

bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be

that goes forth from My mouth; It shall

not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for

which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11) One year at Christmas time I gave out Bibles to the poor in

The Western part of Nigeria, Old and the new Testaments in English language. They were well

received. I still remember one older woman saying this was her best Christmas ever because she had

received the Bible. She held it close to her heart as she thanked me. For many of those people

receiving a Bible, it was their only Christmas present. The most precious thing a

person can own is a Bible. It gives the knowledge of God, it makes the poor man rich,

it gives hope to the hopeless, faith to the fearful, food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, love to the

despised, comfort to the lonely,

freedom to the prisoner, health to the sick, light in the darkness, and life to the dying.

Because I delivered the poor who cried out, The fatherless and the one who had no helper. {13} The

blessing of a perishing man came upon me, And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for

joy. (Job 29:12-13) In everything I did, I showed

you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the

Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.‘” (Acts 20:35)

The giver always gets blessed more than the receiver. The first blessing is the joy of the

Lord. “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and sefaithfulrvant; you have been faithful over a few

things, I will make you ruler over

many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ (Matthew 25:23) “The King will reply, ‘I tell

you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you

did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40) Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet

drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred

to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah

8:10) He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he

has done. (Proverbs 19:17) Blessed is he who considers the poor; The LORD will deliver him in time

of trouble. The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive, And he will be blessed on the earth; You

will not deliver him to the will of his

enemies. The LORD will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him

on his sickbed. (Psalms 41:1-3) (Proverbs 29:7)

The righteous considers the cause of the poor, But the wicked does not understand

such knowledge. (Psalms 112:1-9) Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who

finds great delight in his commands. {2} His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the

upright will be blessed. {3} Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures

forever. {4} Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the

gracious and compassionate and

righteous man. {5} Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs

with justice. {6} Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. {7} He

will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the

LORD. {8} His heart is secured, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. {9}

He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be

lifted high in honor. Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever

sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to

give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all

grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will

abound in every good work. As it is written: “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his

righteousness endures forever.” Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also

supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will

be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your

generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing

in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves,

men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the Gospel of Christ, and

for your generosity

in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to

you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

(2 Corinthians 9:6-15) One of the best gifts God has given you is the

privilege to give, take advantage of it and enjoy

the blessings, and the presence of God upon you, and in you. “Behold, the virgin shall be with child,

and bear a Son, and they shall call

His name Emmanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)

OUR LIVES

Our lives are not about pursuing our dreams. Many of our dreams are self-exalting

pride fantasies and gratuitously selfish when we really examine them. And the truth is, we rarely

know what’s best for us and what will really make us happy. But our Creator knows. He knows

exactly what we’re made for and how we can live the life we’ve been given to the fullest and most

fruitful. Throughout our lives we all

gain skills that are unique to us, possibly you have the gift of clear communication that

makes connecting so easy, or a gentle touch that helps someone feel loved. Maybe you listen from

your whole being so others feel truly heard. It might be a skill that you offer like organising details,

planning events, or researching subjects. At times it’s easier to focus on what we’re missing, on our

faults, or on what we don’t have in comparison to others. This perspective goes against our highest

truth so depletes us and makes us feel small. But when we become aware of what we do have, it will

make us feel full and whole. If we follow God by faith, he will lead us in the most ultimately fulfilling

paths, even when those paths lead through suffering and death.

HONOUR YOUR GIFTS

When you honour your gifts you honour yourself and everyone around you. You are a

unique human being, with your own way of seeing and touching the world. Explore the following

three questions as a way to uncover and honour your gifts and talents. 1. What are the gifts you are

aware of in yourself? Make a

list of all your skills, talents and personality traits that you have to offer, even the quirky ones. 2.

What gifts, skills and talents do others appreciate in you? Which ones are easy for you to share with

others? What gifts do you hold back on? What makes it easier for you to be visible with your gifts

and what makes it difficult? 3. What are the gifts and talents you see in others that you wish you

had? You know, when we admire something in others or

even envy them, it is often a sign of an undeveloped or un- owned gift within us. Make a list of the

gifts you’d like to unearth in yourself. Share Your Gifts with the World We live from our authentic

selves when we consciously express our talents and share

our gifts with others. Try the following three suggestions as a way to bring your gifts to the world. 1.

Set your intention each day to acknowledge and appreciate the gifts, talents and skills you have to

offer yourself, others

and the world. Whenever you judge yourself, turn it around by focusing on your gifts.

Acknowledge and appreciate your friends and family member’s gifts as well. 2. Consciously choose

to share your gifts with others. Notice

how you feel when you share of yourself freely. 3. Find one gift, skill or talent you would like to bring

out more and share, and begin doing that today. Let go of any judgment, shyness or

resistance that stands in your way. As you honour your gifts and share them with others, the world

will be a brighter, happier place to live.

SHARE YOUR GIFTS

Sharing your gifts with others, no matter how small or large, it is an expression of love and

abundance. You might not be aware of what your gifts are, but know deep inside that you are giving

whenever you interact with others from true self. It might be your welcoming smile that

warmsvsomeone’s heart, or your sense

of humour that brightens their day. Whatever it is, acknowledge it and share it with the world..

Don’t dishonor God by devaluing the gifts he’s given you. Don’t waste valuable time grumbling

about gifts you don’t have or resenting others for the gifts they do have, or even for the sinful pride

they might exhibit. They’re stumbling, recovering selfaholics just like you and God knows how to

graciously oppose them (1 Peter 5:5). Pray for them.

Remember the greatest present from God is that He provided a way for us to dwell in His presence,

now and forever. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right

hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalms 16:11).

[*SECTION TWO: *]

HAVE you ever done something so stupid that you felt you were justifiably stuck with the

consequences and could hardly dare hope for healing? Many of us probably have. But no matter

how foolish we may

have been, or how severe the predicament we may have landed in, we won’t be helped by brooding

over our mistakes and continually condemning ourselves. The demon of Self

condemnation can be a root demon many times…. He can be the first one in you opening up doors

for other demonic spirits to enter. In life everyone mess up, everyone fail the

LORD, everyone fall down from time to time! Once you have repented, know and believe that GOD

has forgiven you. But many times after we repent, even though the LORD has forgiven us, yet we do

not forgive ourselves.

When we are failing, and angry with ourselves, our natural way of thinking about ourselves is

something like this: “I’m a mess, a hopeless, helpless mess! Why can’t I do what others are doing?

Why can’t I stop this thing that is hurting me so, and hurting others too?” You are all wrapped up in

your own feelings and you think you deserve to be whipped and punished and cast into hell. But at

that point GOD says to you, “What is wrong with you my child? That is not what you are; that is only

a temporary delusion to which you are giving yourself over. The truth is, you have been cut free. You

are married to Christ. Your human spirit has been indwelt by the Holy Spirit and it cannot sin. It has

not sinned and does not sin. Now, you yourself, as a person, have been deceived by the sin in your

flesh, and it has taken over and has gotten you into this difficulty. But that is not who you are. Don’t believe that about yourself anymore. There is a fresh provision of the forgiveness of God and the

righteousness of Christ waiting for you. You are in Christ, this is who you are. Take his forgiveness,

believe it, thank God for it, and go on, and know that your struggle has ended.”

That is why Paul says in Galatians 5:17, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”

(Galatians 5:17).

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no

condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but

according to the Spirit. Today, God wants you to receive the gift of no condemnation. This gift will

cause you to walk tall and be a true success. This gift will also save you from a life of stress, fear,

restlessness, and even sickness and disease. That is because everything that happens in your soul

the emotional and mental realms will affect your physical body if it is not properly dealt with.

Doctors are beginning to

realize that more people are suffering from psychosomatic illnesses nowadays. They are

realizing that the majority of patients would not be suffering from their physical conditions if they

had known how to handle their emotional afflictions such as fear, stress and worry. It is interesting

to know that the word “condemnation” in the original Greek means

“condemning sentence”. Stress is a condemning sentence. Sickness and disease is a condemning

sentence. But there is therefore now no

condemning sentence for those who are in Christ Jesus!

When you realize and understand that there is

therefore now no condemnation in Christ, two

things will happen to you. The first thing that will happen when you understand that God

does not condemn you in Christ is that you will stop condemning yourself. Do you

know that many people who are always angry are like that because of guilt? For example, when a

man feels guilty for not being able to provide for his family, he gets angry and takes it out on his

wife. It is like having a small pebble

in your shoe. You cannot walk properly because it is bothering you. So it is with guilt. And you must

resolve it by going to God and thanking Him that there is therefore now no condemnation because

your sins have already been punished in the body of His

Son. As long as you think that God condemns you, you will condemn yourself. And your body and

mind are so intelligent that, unconsciously, they believe that you want to punish yourself. So they

will say, “Okay, it’s time to pass a

condemning sentence on this body!” And sickness is produced. Disease is produced. But long before

symptoms manifest in your body, you were already a walking civil war. The second thing that will

happen when you understand that God does not condemn

you in Christ is that you will stop condemning others. You will not condemn those who are also in

Christ for their failures. You will even look at the world with eyes of no condemnation because you

will see them the way Jesus

sees them as lost sheep who are without a shepherd. And He said, “I am the good shepherd. The

good shepherd gives His

life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)

CAUTIONS:

There is no need to condemn yourself by thinking, “I am bad, I am bad, I cannot do anything.” You

waste so much time in condemning yourself. Who are you to condemn yourself? You don’t belong to

yourself. Your body is made of five elements. You cannot create the body again, so your body does

not belong to you. Your pranas do not belong to you; your mind does not belong to you; your soul

does not belong to you. Who are you

to claim that this is bad and that is good? Both claims are not helpful. One feeds the ego, the other cripples your creativity. Do not condemn yourself. You have no right to do that. You are created by

Providence and you should learn to respect its creation. When you stumble against yourself you will

also stumble in the external world. Don’t hurt yourself. Be strong. How come you are picking up the

habit of having an inferiority complex? It means you feel you are a lump of flesh, a bag of bones, and

a tumbler of blood with a mechanical brain inside your skull. You are more than that. You are a

luminous soul, a spark of the eternal fire of Atman. You are the way you think and you become the

way you think. Stop having that inferiority complex. What you eat, do, and think is limited to the

body, breath, and mind. The Buddhist scriptures say that if you hate others, nothing happens to the

hated person, rather something happens to you, to your mind, to your heart. You can learn to love

somebody, even one whom you hate, by understanding that he is a human being like you. Who am I

to hate that person? Stop hurting and hating others, for it injures you. If you constantly injure

yourself, it can lead you to an action that can never be forgiven by your own mind, by your own

conscience. You are constantly killing your conscience. Stop doing that. When you kill your

conscience, how can you love others? You should learn to appreciate, admire, and love yourself, and

then emanate that love to others. If someone else injures you it can be treated, but if you go on

injuring yourself, who will treat you? The greatest sinner is he or she who constantly kills his or her

own conscience. Remember that fifty percent is my job and fifty percent is your job. I do my job and

you do yours. Suppose you don’t do your job; I will still continue my efforts to help you grow. A

human being commits many mistakes because he is not perfect. When you sit down in meditation,

have a little dialogue with yourself. What did I do today that was not right? What did I say that was

injurious and harmful? This way of keeping track of ideas, thoughts, action, and speech is called

housekeeping. A human being is like a multistoried mansion. In this mansion there are many subtle

and finer forces of life. To manage such a magnificent mansion, you have to supervise all the levels

of the mansion, not only the primitive fountains of food, sex, sleep, and self-preservation. Those

who are ignorant get lost in gross objects that are subject to change, death, and decay. They are not

aware of the finer forces of life that are the real interior functionaries of this mansion of life. Body is

only a gross tool. Breath is finer, and finest is the mind. Actions are actions, and you should not

identify yourself with your actions. You should learn to build a personal philosophy and remain free

from any guilt. When you have a dialogue with yourself and find that you have committed a mistake,

do not repeat it. Why brood on mistakes and create a deeper feeling of guilt for yourself? If actions

that you consider to be injurious or obstacles to the path are not repeated, then you are free. A guilt

feeling comes because you are creating a law for yourself, or society is creating laws for you. If you

follow the law of life, there is no reason for you to have a guilt feeling. You are your own judge, but

don’t be obsessed by don’ts. Life was not meant for don’ts. The more you make your life calm, the

more it becomes purified, and the whole philosophy changes. This is a process of self-transformation

that actually helps you to grow, unfold, and attain. Those who know all about their mind and its

various aspects, enjoy and attain the beauty of life. Life should be appreciated. No one has the right

to condemn it. What is good and what is right, thinking makes it so. Surrender the mind for a while

to God consciousness, and you will find peace.

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SECTION THREE:

I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind

and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has

called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14) Everyone who has run a race knows that

you can break your stride by looking over your shoulder to check out

how your opponents are doing. Many races have been lost when the leader looked

back. When you see that finish line, that’s the time to give it everything you’ve got because

sometimes it’s mere inches that separate one runner from another. You must stay focused. This is

the idea behind Paul’s statement in (Philippians 3:13-14) The apostle was

saying, “Don’t look back. Don’t look behind you.” When God promises, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own

sake; and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25) He is not predicting a lapse in His memory.

God is saying. “I will no longer hold your sin against you because my Son

has paid for it at the cross.” But that does not mean that you’ve been given the licence to sin.

Therefore, we need to do what God does: forget our past. Yes, we certainly need to learn from our

mistakes and remember some of the bitter lessons we have learned. But we no longer need to be

controlled by our past. That is what Paul meant by “forgetting what is behind.”

Think about the horrible things Paul had done. He shared responsibility for the

death of Stephen and had to carry that in his conscience until his final day. He knew

that he was responsible forvterrible deeds. But he was able to put his past in the

past. And we need to do the same.

Negative events of the past

can make it hard to live in the present. Troubling memories can make it hard to sleep or get through

the day. There will come a point at which you must let go of the past or it will define your future.

And yet, we always carry our pasts with us in the ways we think, talk, and perceive the world.

Managing this can feel like a tightrope walk without an end in sight. By taking things step-by-step

and keeping

your mind open, you can come to accept your past as part of yourself. You can leave behind the

negative habits that have kept you tethered to unfulfilled dreams and broken promises.

Everyone is bound to experience unhappiness in his or her life. I am sure you have had some

unpleasant memories too, perhaps some

which are of real painful ones? Well, forget the past and move on and let time heal your past.

Obviously, we humans are by nature affectionate with feelings and emotions and to be feeling down

and unhappy at times is

inevitable. But then, this is nevertheless the gift of ours. Now, I am sure you wouldn’t want to be one

who is cold blooded and without any

feeling of love and affection? Then, the presence of unpleasant memories has got to just be part and

parcel of your life. You see, it is only when you actually went through unhappiness, will you be able

to then understand and truly appreciate the gift of happiness. And just as you are not able to forget

all those sweet and wonderful

memories of yours, there is no way you can simply forget the unpleasant past.

To forget the past, that is only running away

from reality. Rather, you should instead of forgetting them, remember and accept

them. Now look at this. Imagine you enjoying your vacation and suddenly you receive an overseas

phone call from back home with the news that your mum met with a car accident and is in hospital.

Receiving such news, no

matter how fun and exciting your holiday is, you definitely won’t be able to enjoy yourself anymore,

isn’t it? But what if we say that at the next instant, you receive a follow-up call

informing you that it was only a very minor accident and your mum has been discharged? You see,

what that happened is you actually went through a state of drastic change in

emotion. On hearing about the accident, you got scared and worried, overwhelmed by fear and

anxiety; the more you think about it the more fear and anxiety grew within you, weighing you down

each and every second. But on receiving next the good news, you let go of them all. And yes, the

very key here is you Let Go! Once again, you return back to your normal self and were back smiling

again. And why is this so? That is because you have let go of all those fear and were no longer

burdened by them anymore. You understood clearly the

situation, knowing very clearly that the problem has been resolved and there is no need for you to

worry further. Well, when there is nothing for you to worry, why would there still be unpleasantness

of fear and anxiety? And well, the same principle applies here. To move on, you have to learn to let

go of the unpleasant past. But to get it clear, by asking you to let go is not asking you to try and

forget the past. As mentioned, it is not going to be easy for you to just forget all those past

unpleasantness. Yes, you may claim that you are able to

forget some though. But here, you have to understand that those are just the insignificant

events that have got not at all any harsh impact on you and which is why you are able to forget them

very easily. In short, you have understood their insignificance and let go of them. And hence to be

saying, for those that still

haunt you, you have yet to understand them enough; you are still unwilling to accept the fact that

they actually happened. Now, everything in life happen for a reason and the reason for going

through these unhappiness is actually to help you to better understand yourself, to allow you to

grow wiser and to move on and

progress in life. Kk yr, just picture your life to be a test. Now, in that many tests which you have taken, I am sure you didn’t score a perfect full mark for all of them? And why is it so?

That is because you didn’t fully understand every of what was tested by your teacher? And should

you be to retake the tests, why would you do, to ensure that you score a full mark? Well, to be able

to achieve full mark this time, you have to study and understand the mistakes that you have earlier

made. And here, to be able to truly move on in life, you have to study and understand your

unhappiness just like how you would for your mistakes in your tests.

Instead of clinging on so tightly, you should examine where things actually went wrong and correct

on them. Take for instance, a break up in relationship, you should instead of refusal, graciously

accept it as a learning

experience for you to improve on yourself, to understand your mistakes and to hence be able to do

better in your next relationship. Well, think about it. If you are not going to open up yourself, do you

think you can fare better in your next relationship? Even if you were to be given another chance to

patch up with him or her, of what difference would it make

if you are going to remain immature still and not willing to adopt changes? Now, I would choose to

believe that you are mature enough to think for yourself. It is stupid to live in the past, hold on to

painful and negative memories, whip ourselves in anger and fret and fume with self-pity. But most of

us do just that. We need to ask ourselves if it is worth holding on to these memories in our mind’s

vaults. These are toxic memories that can damage you every day for the rest of your life. Let us do a

cost-benefit analysis of whether it is worth the trouble to live with pain, helplessness and anger. We

cannot build a future on our broken past. So start healing yourself today as life is short and time is of

essence. If we do not deal with our pain, it will slowly devour our insides. If we want to take a happy

step into the future, it is important we bury the burdens of the past. Our present is much more

valuable than the past but we are wasting it dwelling on a past that cannot be repaired or changed.

It is the present that can change for all of us as we are in charge of it. Junk self-pity starting today. All of us have bad experiences with people or go through trauma because of some unpleasant incident.

Dealing with it only makes us stronger and helps us think logically and unemotionally. Forgive all

those who caused you hurt. This is absolutely crucial as otherwise you will carry the anger to your

grave. It takes both magnanimity and courage to forgive but you must have both to heal yourself.

The moment you forgive completely from the depths of your heart, you will feel light and free. You

do not see yourself as a suffering human being anymore, but as someone who has a new confidence

and a new direction. You transform yourself from a victim to an empowered individual. You start

realising the value of the present and stop living in the

past. You stop being self destructive. One good way is to give positive self-suggestions. You can also

write down negative feeling and then decide it is the last time you will think of them. Or you can

draw, paint or just talk to someone close to you. Re-live your pain and then let it out of your system

forever. Sometimes, you realise that you were to blame. So, accept responsibility. No more will you

live in shame and guilt. Reliving the experience and then letting go requires effort, energy and

strength. But when you do, you will feel lighter

than ever before. You see a new world emerge before you. It is important to let go off the self-

destructive anger, you have been holding on to all these years. Tell yourself you have the power now

to let go and do it. Don’t allow any of it to linger on, as you will again be encircling what you hate

most. Only then can you move beyond suffering to discover a new you — a self that accepts every

moment of life is wonderful and beautiful. To cling on to your unhappiness or to

stand up and courageously face them, it is all up to you. But I am sure you will make a

wise choice, yeah? Afterall, if you have had that courage to stand up again and again

despite all those hurtful falls when you were a baby, I am sure you can once again stand up on your

feet to walk on and move on? Don’t let your unpleasant past be an obstacle to you, let it be instead

a driving force for you to move on and progress in life. Let go of the unpleasant past now, happiness

is what you should

deserve. These are the set of actions

that I’ve found to help overcome fears, find

motivation, and prioritize:

1. FIND A PURPOSE.

You might already know what your purpose is, but it’s good to review it and keep it at the forefront

of your thoughts. If you don’t have a purpose, start here: what will you want to look back on at the

end of your life? What will make your life feel significant? What will give your life some meaning? If

you don’t have an answer to these questions, it’s worth spending a little time here. Go for a walk

and think about it.

2. EMBRACE YOUR DESIRE.

You’re reading this article because you have a desire to do something positive in your life. Embrace

that. Isn’t it wonderful that you have

this desire? See this as the first positive step, one you’ve already taken. Now use it and take action.

3. CREATE A SPACE.

You won’t make any changes if you don’t create a small space for the change. When will you start

making the change? In the morning, in the evening, during your lunch break? Don’t wait for the

change to happen — make it happen. Block off some time on your calendar each day, even if it’s just

10 or 15 minutes. If you don’t have the time, think about how long you spend each day on Facebook,

TV, games, or doing smaller tasks that aren’t as important. Push those back for just a bit, and do

what’s most important to you first.

4. SURROUND YOURSELF.

The best way to make change happen is to surround yourself with others making a similar change

themselves, others who will support your change. Find a few people online or off, and create a

support team that will check in with each other regularly. Yes, this might take some work. Yes, you

can do it.

5. MAKE THE ACCOUNTABILITY. Find at least one person who will hold you accountable for making

this change. It might be the

support team mentioned above, or a coach, or an accountability partner. Tell them not to let you off

the hook.

6. TAKE A SMALL ACTION.

If you’re overwhelmed by a large change, or you found yourself so miserable and frustrated, that’s

not the end of your life. Change destination and make new friends, begin a new and better way of

behaving. Take a small step, and get moving. Remember, movement begets movement. Therefore,

even if you have failed over and over again before, that’s not the stop! Just take another small step

with faith, and then you will see something great happening in your life. This is how change is

created.

Document Outline

• COMPENDIUM OF AWARENESS – (Elijah Onyenmeriogu – 2015)

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