The Story of Two Wolves

A Grandfather from the Cherokee Nation was talking with his grandson. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves." "One wolf is evil and ugly: He is anger, envy, war, greed, self-pity, sorrow, regret, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, selfishness and arrogance." "The other wolf is beautiful and good: He is friendly, full of joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, justice, fairness, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, gratitude, and deep vision." "This same fight is going on inside you and inside every other human as well." The grandson paused in deep reflection because of what his grandfather had just said. Then he finally cried out; "Oyee! Grandfather, which wolf will win?" The elder Cherokee replied, "The one I feed."

Thoughtful Choice

It’s important to choose which thoughts we give our time and attention to. A thought leads to a feeling, which leads to an awareness and that leads to our experience of life. When we tune into our true, natural self the experience of happiness bubbles up.
Having relaxed and freed ourselves from the noise of the outer world, we are ready to look into our inner world of thoughts and feelings and begin to nourish “the good wolf”. This works like magic! A mind well nourished becomes our friend.

Strengthening the mind

By focusing on our beautiful thoughts and feelings we develop natural concentration. Using the one minute meditations regularly strengthen this. It is then easy to keep an appreciative outlook, hold interest and use time successfully.

Train a wandering mind

What to do when the mind still wanders? We can step back and observe our own negative or unhelpful thoughts, as if they are clouds passing by, without getting caught up in them. Then we gently focus our mind on positive empowering thoughts. With practice our natural habit of concentrating on the positive returns and our mind wanders less.

j-a-m practice: keeping focus

Taking regular moments to check-in with the mind throughout the day, increases the power of concentration, so we can see clearly and make great choices with confidence.

Benefits of concentration

• Easy decision-making
• Most efficient use of time and energy
• Longer attention span
• Clear memory
• Retaining information