Well, to get to the point. Dr. Reynold's wrote some 6 Key Points about Constructive Living. Constructive Living is a combination of two Japanese psychotherapies, Naikan and Morita. They are Zen-based teachings which I found very helpful...and I hope you can too. Constructive Living contains practices that are helpful in journeying our way through life a bit more, well, constructively.
Some of Dr. Reynold's work is now out of print, so here is Constructive Living principles in a nutshell:
1. Observe, acknowledge and accept feelings and thoughts without necessarily expressing or acting on them.
2. Pay attention to the details of reality in the present moment and bring attention to whatever you are doing when the mind wanders elsewhere.
3. Distinguish between what is controllable (your own behavior) and what is not controllable (just about everything else).
4. Identify purposes and establish realistic goals.
5. Co-exist with unpleasant feelings and still take appropriate action based on the needs of the situation.
6. Examine your behavior in relation to others and assess the impact of your behavior on others.
Take some time and reflect on this. See how following these principles can help make your life flow more evenly.
I invite you to read some of his works or Google Constructive Living. There are some good websites dedicated to his teachings. Over the years I have found his teachings very helpful...and I have fond memories of eating lunch with him and Dr. Mosig.
Hands palm to palm,
Shinzen
