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What Is Behind Willpower?


A picture of an image with the word " sprout ".

Trees–our stealth-like teachers

Many of us recognize that willpower can be a key component for achieving a desired result or pursuing a plan of action,  but what is the underlying support or motivation for willpower?

As a child, I was always one of those kids who kept my room clean, finished assignments early, and had competitive goals to lock onto.  My parents set rules and expectations, but they didn’t have to discipline me much.  Although, they did provide rewards for good behavior, so could I say the willpower was encouraged by material goods?  While moving through life, the benefits of high grades, good results, over achieving proved to be worth the effort with freedom and support greasing the wheels.  As I hit middle-age, I could understand the logic behind those principles and see the material payoffs, but somehow my soul was lost in the material rewards.  What next?  The path took a sharp turn with the past two years of soul searching, meditating, and contemplating–Who Am I?, What is the Earth Theater?, and Is there something beyond what we know?

Fortunately, the “innate” willpower from childhood has proven useful in this newer, more mystical path.  One of the big differences is I am looking for internal aspects of being rather than primarily external signposts.  The path is me and the abstraction known as Divinity. I have never been religious or belonged to a particular faith, but I have felt there is something way bigger and beyond this small singular unit called self.  I am learning and experiencing a new perspective while living a spiritual life in India.

Have I uncovered what is behind or underneath willpower or will? It appears to come with our birth package, but we also have this component called free will.  What we do with free will appears to be what helps us along the path in decision making, problem solving, “right action”, and a peaceful acceptance of the multitude of variables thrown our way while living.  Willpower doesn’t guarantee anything, but it gives us internal momentum to act, take a step, and problem solve.

A daily spiritual teaching from the Bowl of Saki shows up in my inbox.  Todays got me thinking and reflecting on all of the layers that willpower works.  Take a look and see what you think.

Will power is the keynote of mastery, and asceticism is the development of will power.                        Bowl of Saki, September 21, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:The first exercise to help the will power to develop would be to check every act, word, and thought which we do not wish to occur; to avoid unintentional actions, speech, and thoughts. The other exercise that is necessary for the development of the will power is that of seeing that neither our mind nor our body rules us, but that we rule our body and our mind. Desires such as appetite, thirst, sleep, even the desire of moving or standing or walking, all these desires should be under control. There should be a time in every day when every desire of the body is checked. See if you can do it; and then as long as you can let the body go without listening to it, do so.

   from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VII/VII_7.htm

A person might ask, ‘Is, then, the secret of happiness in the way of the ascetics, in tormenting and torturing oneself as they have done for ages?’ Even that does not give happiness. It is only a distraction from the worldly pleasures which produce illusion. The ascetic shuts himself up in order to have an opportunity of taking another direction. … For even asceticism is not a happiness. It is only a means of self-discipline.

   from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/I/I_IV_5.htm

The nature of the mind is such that it creates a thought and throws it over for another thought to take its place. This being the nature of the mind, it makes it difficult for one to concentrate upon one object steadily. The mind of an average person may be pictured as an unruly horse that jumps and kicks and throws anyone that tries to ride it. Masters of the world are those who have mastered themselves, and mastery lies in the control of the mind. If the mind became your obedient servant, the whole world is at your service. The king of mind is greater than the king of a nation.

   ~~~ “Githa II, ‘Amaliyyat 1”, by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)

The fasting and abstinence and all these things were taught in order to develop the will power, which results in self-discipline and which is the secret of all mastery; and it is by this power that the kingdom within is attained.

   from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XIII/XIII_2.htm

2 Comments

  1. Mary on September 22, 2012 at 6:59 pm

    This was very interesting. I am reminded of a conversation with you about the human speed bump. I believe that self-discipline is the way of accomplishment…no matter in what area. So I really resonated with the line above “will power, which results in self-discipline and which is the secret of all mastery; and it is by this power that the kingdom within is attained.” Thank you for this post.



    • seoff on September 23, 2012 at 4:56 pm

      Touching the essence is where the Selfseed will grow from. Lovely share, thank you.