This is an important concept because once you get it, it’s easier to relax: It’s the foundations themselves which are the foundations of success; and any structures you build on top simply become part of the foundations for whatever you do next. We make life difficult for ourselves by focusing too much on the goal and trying to predict how and whether it will all work out, each time giving life to our expectations. Instead, we would be better served by focusing on the foundations and appreciating each step we take, no matter how small.
See your progress clearly and know that your are always moving towards your goal. Always. When we view things this way we are better able to appreciate our progress, and understand the processes at work. As I wrote in the beginning of my book (p.4): ‘Know that you will succeed, relax, and enjoy what is about to happen.’
Here is a brief summary of the seminar’s contents, with links to the relevant blog entries. (The corresponding page numbers of the book are in brackets.)
Meat & Potatoes (p.248)
This is a beautiful description of how everything we’ve done up until now is merely the foundation for what we are about to do. It even goes one step further to suggest that whatever foundations you have built so far are only honoured if you keep pushing yourself: ‘The sole purpose of everything up until that point had been to serve what was about to happen.‘
It Can Happen In An Instant (p.366)
Of course, this is an exaggeration because it ignores the amount of work which has gone into getting us to the point of the shift, But the aim here is to encourage us to keep going because (as we saw in TS#4), even though it may seem as though nothing is happening, we could be very close to a major improvement. The entry uses my exercises to demonstrate the point.
Those same exercises are a perfect example of the main point of the whole seminar: as of today, I have exercised for 965 days in a row; but it was only possible because of the foundation of the previous 964 days, without which it couldn’t exist. And then, as soon as it had been achieved, it became a part of the foundation for day 966.
See Your Progress (p.434)
This is where our focus needs to be. Instead of being distracted by your goal and possibly frustrated by the fact that you are not there yet, focus on where you are now and and see the steps you have taken to move yourself forward. Monitor and chart your progress, see the evidence of your development, and eventually you will find yourself standing on your own horizon.
I Am My Own Foundation (p.168)
This is another important aspect of the whole subject – you are your own foundation. Focus on yourself. Work on yourself. That way, everything else you do will be imbued with your own success. The point is best summarised by this extract from the above post:
‘…what I took from listening to Karaj yesterday is the need for self development above all else. If I am not sorted then nothing will be right. I am my own foundation. My focus should be to quieten my mind and improve my concentration, awareness and observation, and to strengthen my body – I need to be physically fit for my journey.’
As it says in the video below: ‘You never get a break from yourself, so why not sort it out?’
I looked through the book to find other references to foundations. Below are the main ones. As well as highlighting the points I have already made, they also bring together some of the elements of previous seminars: the need for procedures to help us when things get difficult; the need for patience; and the power of thought to affect (create!) our circumstances.
p.32. Beyond our perceptions momentum is building and everything we do becomes the foundation for each subsequent progression. No matter how large or small, the next step in our personal development is already happening.
p.121. Don’t be in a hurry to build when the foundations are still fragile and incomplete.
p.123. Karaj has said before that when it happens it will happen quickly. However, it cannot happen until the foundations are in place.
p.166. Karaj stressed that by sorting out our issues, our goals will be achieved automatically. As a consequence of our self-development, our dreams will become real. By laying the foundations of personal growth we allow everything else to grow effortlessly with us.
p.237. I also learnt that life is all about procedures. It is not about the big things, the great insights, or the major breakthroughs. They are there to encourage us on our journey but the emphasis must be on the little things. Life is all about what happens from second to second, which is why Karaj goes to such lengths to explain the importance of foundations. We need solid foundations before we can build any major structures, and those foundations are maintained and strengthened with procedures.
p.296. It’s the same as Karaj has always said: concentrate on building the foundations and then things will happen; and they will happen very quickly. So relax, work hard doing whatever I can, and in time I will see the results. I don’t need to force anything.
p.351. …we worked hard all day to meet a very tight deadline; one which caused my script to rear up to something approaching its full height. The result was that I was unable to put any of the procedures into practice which help me deal with my script. The foundation for my reaction was laid in the morning when Karaj expressed a desire to finish by midday… [This didn’t happen and by the evening my unverbalised resentment had built up the point where one tiny detail] …got to me. From that moment on my evening’s fate was sealed by my emotions and my script.
p.435. Major change only occurs when you work hard to lay the foundations and build momentum, so it’s important to acknowledge the work you are doing and see the progress you are already making.
p.445. It also helps to remember that whatever you do now becomes the foundation for your next step.
p.499. And all the while y
ou are dealing with the here and now, you are also creating your future. Inevitably. Unequivocally. Karaj was forever telling me to relax, explaining over and over again that I was building the foundations in order that my future can happen. And that’s all I had to do. Focus on building the foundations. That’s the key here. Build the foundations and relax.
What also emerged from the seminar was that we may think in terms of (and be too focused on) creating beautiful structures on top of our foundations. In personal development terms, the individual is the structure, and we are already beautiful. Therefore, any strengthening of our base simply adds to our existing beauty. Another reason to focus on building your foundations.
Additional posts: Laying the Foundations | Get the Foundations Right | The Curve of Progress | Solid Foundations | Continue To Lay The Foundations | Riding & Surviving The Waves | Progress Means Never Getting There | Let It Go