Habit, Fixed Habits, Creatures of Habit, Routine, Same Routine, Habituality, Fixidity, Rigidity, Unchanging

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Growth Online Habituality, Fixidity, Rigidity
Knowledge Base

by Roy Posner and MSS

Our Habitual Nature
Our habitual nature weighs on us; prevents us from moving forward.

Instincts of Material Existence
-The predominant instincts of material existence are self-preservation, self-repetition, and self-multiplication.
-The bodily life wants to persist, not progress, repeat not enlarge. (Paraphrase of Sri Aurobindo)

Our Habitual Nature
Our habitual nature causes us to be fixed, rigid, unwilling to change. It is marked by its desire to continue as is, to repeat, and not want to move in another direction. It shuns possibilities and opportunities. It is an aspect of our physical consciousness, inherited from the inertia and inconscient of matter via our physical bodies.

The Physical Consciousness that is a Thing of Habit
The physical [consciousness, plane, aspect represented in us as our physical bodies] is normally obscure, inert, impervious to the Light. It is a thing of habits, very largely a slave of the subconscient and its mechanical reactions. (Sri Aurobindo)

Break the Habit; Change the Routine; Life Will Respond

So much of what we do in life is routine. In one sense, it is quite satisfying, as we are comfortable with what is dependable and predictable. Yet it is also what removes freshness from life. Interestingly, if we change a habit or alter a routine, performing it in a fresh, new way, life will quickly conspire to bring forth unexpected, positive circumstance.

For example, one man who walked the same path every day, went a different round, and was astonished to discover spectacular vistas he had completely missed all these years. In another situation, a man took up a subject matter somewhat different from what he normally focused on, and five minutes later learned that that very new feature was out of thousands of possibilities the single solution that solved a client's long-term problems!

When we break out of the routine, we release fresh energies that then align with the very best of conditions. In essence, we move out of our local domain, and open to wider vistas, allowing the infinite potentials of life to rush in.

If this is the case, why not consider several activities that you do as routine, and conceive of doing them somehow differently. Or as your day passes by, think if you can do what you are doing a little differently, adding a little twist or new wrinkle. If you then make that habit-breaking, routine-altering effort, creative, new, dynamic circumstance will suddenly present themselves, energizing you to know end!

In short: break the habit, change the routine; life WILL respond!

Power of Changing a Habit, Routine

A small positive change in a habit or routine can attract sudden, overwhelming good fortune. To have the experience is to alter our view of the small; to see the Infinite-like Significance in the apparent Insignificant.

Results of Overcoming Habit, the Routine

Break a lifeless, dead habit or routine, and life will suddenly spring forward on your behalf.

Freshness, Accomplishment, and Joy

Greatest accomplishment comes from fresh, creative expression, rather than mere repetition of what we already know well. Taking an attitude of freshness to any act releases our energy and enjoyment.

When I assume I already know everything related to a work, I am closed and dull. When I try to learn something new in every act, I become fresh. Acting from habit is dull.

Acting freshly releases energy and joy. Freshness means to live in the moment fully and consciously. (Garry Jacobs, MSS)

Losing the Advantage

Toyota Motors was riding high for years, leading the pack in auto sales around the world. Recently, however, it has stumbled. The Economist gave many reasonable explanations, focusing on marketing and financing deficiencies, the woeful state of the economy, and others. Nowhere did they mention what made the company special in the first place in recent years -- their Prius, hybrid cars that goes much further on a gallon of gas than other vehicles. They were in the forefront of green technology.

From my perspective, they were all too content to sell a million or so of the hybrid vehicles a year, with the overwhelming majority of sales still going to the normal, non-hybrid autos. There was no compulsion to change their ways, as they had a good solid business, and there was no obvious competition. Yet it is their complacency and self-satisfaction regarding the hybrid that "attracted" from life many of their other problems. I.e. though they had the opportunity to sell millions of these vehicles a year, and upgrade the technology in the interim, they chose the safe, well-travelled way. Yet by doing so, they moved out of step with the world; not to mention their own selves. In the heart of their being, in their deepest values to best serve the society, they lost the 'inner advantage.' Life then responded in negative fashion though recent losses and their loss of confidence.

Now competitors have taken up the slack, and in response, Toyota has decided to join the fray of plug-in hybrids; technology that triples mileage per gallon. Competition has woken them out of their slumber. But they might have lost the opportunity to dominate this market as they have had with non plug-in hybrids. They were complacent, got caught up in the habit and routine (of selling a million of the same vehicles), losing touch with their values of service, innovation, and leadership.

It is a lesson for all of us in business, as well as in our personal lives.

Creating that Brings the Supreme's Delight

The Divine creates through effortlessness and oneness; thus, there is never ending Joy and Delight. We create through struggle and ego, so joy comes and goes. When we create in freshness and for the sake of others, we too can experience the never-ending Delight of the Supreme.

Breaking Our Habitual Nature

Sri Aurobindo indicates that the predominant instincts of material existence are self-preservation, self-repetition, and self-multiplication. The bodily life in particular wants to persist, not progress; repeat, not enlarge.

This habitual nature causes us to be fixed, rigid, and unwilling to change. It thus shuns possibilities and opportunities.

It is an aspect of our physical consciousness, inherited from the inertia and inconscient of matter via our physical bodies. Our habitual nature is a slave of the subconscient and its mechanical reactions.

And yet when we perform an act in a fresh, new way, rather than in the tired old way, life immediately opens before us. When we get off the dime, and move away from our physical consciousness that is fixed and wants to repeat, we open the portals of possibility.

In this way, each of us can identify one or more dead or dull routines in our own lives, and experience that same sort of magic. If we come upon a habit or ritual that has no life behind it, and then try to do it differently, life will suddenly open up before us. What was once limited and finite will suddenly blossom. What was dull and unexciting will instantly energize. In that way, our fixed, dull habits and routines will begin to give way, attracting not only startling positive life conditions, but in that process bring moments of unexpected happiness and joy.

E.g. if my boss asks me to work weekends -- when I normally don�t, and besides is something I don�t like to do -- and catch my negative reaction, life will respond positively to that change. The effort to break the old habit will attract powerful positive conditions from life. This is precisely what happened to me many years ago, and the result is that I attracted the biggest sale of my life.

Or if I notice that I am walking along the same old path, and instead desire and see a new course to take, I am startled to discover a bookstore in an unexpired location where I find a volume that lists a person who will evaluate my upcoming book for little or no charge. That also happened to me, and I was able to get a detailed 30 page review of my book on Life Response for absolutely free, which helped me immensely in producing a far better version a year or two later. That form of Grace came because I literally took a different (physical) path.

Over time, we can learn to overcome the dead or deadening habit completely through the exercise of a steady Will, until the day when it is finally broken. In addition, if we intensely offer the matter to the spiritual Force, to the Divine Mother, then our mental will can turn into SPIRITUAL will, which will break down the habit much more quickly, while also dissolving related ones.

Finally, if we live life from a deeper center, we become much more sensitive to our reluctances, fixidities, and habits; our unchanging, repeating nature. In tandem with an indomitable Aspiration and Will to change these specific aspects of our nature, and our conscious effort to surrender the problem to the Divine Force, we open the portals of infinite possibility where our deepest aspirations in life are instantly fulfilled.

Breaking the Habit
It is said that we are creatures of habit -- i.e. we like to persist in doing that which is routine and familiar, rather than what is different, fresh, and new. Sri Aurobindo tells us that this is due to our material, body consciousness, which tends to remain the same, rather than progress: to repeat the same things, rather than take fresh, new initiative.

And yet we can learn to be more open to change in our moment-to-moment lives. In any given circumstance, we can become aware of our fixidity, our reluctance, our unchanging habit, and instead take a fresh, new tact. And when we break that routine and pattern, not only do we experience the joy of a fresh moment, but we open the portals of possibility, enabling sudden good fortune to come our way. Let me illustrate with a recent experience.

For several years, I have been self-publishing my books through Lulu Press, a wonderful online system that is an alternative to traditional book production. An author goes to their website, supplies the manuscript file, selects a look for the covers, and Lulu produces a book template available to the public. The consumer can then purchase a volume to order, 1 or 100, and have it shipped within a few days. It is a major revolution in the book-publishing field.

For several years, I have had little problems using the service. I would simply follow the steps and voila! new iterations of my books would be made available to the public. Recently, however, I have been trying to publish a new book, 'Higher Consciousness, Infinite Success', a compendium of the dozen or so major articles I have written at the Growth Online site, and have run into several problems. The main one is that when I send my Microsoft Word file to the site, the Lulu wizard would not accept it. I figured that it might be an error in their system, or that there is too much traffic at their site, or some other factor. For a month, I struggled to get a version of the file uploaded to Lulu so I could complete the book publishing cycle. Recently I simply resigned myself to the plight, hoping it would self-correct down the line.

Then I recalled that several associates of mine were using the Mozilla Firefox web browser instead of Microsoft's Internet Explorer. It was something I had never tried before, nor did I see a reason to. I sometimes even wondered why my friends were using it. I heard it was a little faster, but that did not seem enough to take me away from Internet Explorer. In any case, one morning, frustrated with my lack of success in uploading my latest book, and not having gotten a credible response from Lulu, I decided to download the Firefox browser.

When I loaded it up, it did indeed seem to be somewhat faster, though that still seemed only a relatively minor benefit for continuing with its use. Then I went to the Lulu site and tried uploading my manuscript through Firefox instead of the normal Internet Explorer. A moment later, I was shocked to see that not only did my manuscript file take the first time around, but I was able to get through all the publishing steps in record time! Later in the week, I made further changes to the manuscript, and was very quickly able to create a revision at Lulu. For me, it was a marvel to behold, as weeks if not months of frustration had now suddenly ended.

Even as I was having the experience, I saw the great life response benefit of embracing change in the details of life: of taking a different path, rather than following old habits and routines. When we perform an act in a fresh, new way, rather than in the tired old way, life immediately opens before us. When we get off the dime, and move away from our physical consciousness that is fixed and wants to repeat, we open the portals of possibility. It was another wonderful reminder that every moment we are offered the opportunity to break old habits and quickly attract the infinite to our doorstep.

Creatures of Habit
A creature is normally associated with a living thing, usually a life form below ours. That creature wakes, hunts for food, procreates, tends to its young, builds shelter, and sleeps. It is a creature of habit. It lives in predictable rounds of duty and task, while allowing variation within its patterns. We inherit that same capacity. It is what enables us to live secure lives. It is also that which makes us rigid, fixed, unable to easily adapt to change. What is the source of this reality?

We each have three or perhaps four essential parts of our being. We have a physical body, we have an emotional center, a mentality, and a spiritual capacity. Physical, vital, mental, spiritual. There are of course shades in between. E.g. between the emotional and the mental is the psychological. Let us for the moment focus on the physical.

Outwardly, the universe essentially consists of material forms. Planets, rocks, oceans, plants, animal, and we are physical forms. We are also more than physical forms. However, our body is physical, a formation of matter that houses our outer being. Matter in its most material form is mostly inert on the surface. Though it vibrates within, on the surface it is fixed, settled, inert, tends not to move. When the vital being emerged from the physical body in the lower life forms, the fixed, inert influence of matter carried over. When mentality emerged from the animus of life in the higher creatures, it too inherited the fixed, unmoving, inert nature of matter. It shows itself in various parts of our psychological makeup, in our character.

When an opportunity comes our way, and we look elsewhere, it is the insert, unresponsive, fixed influence of matter (as represented by our physical bodies) that is "responding." When we are asked to do a task other than we are used to, and we complain, it is the influence of our material being, which only wants to repeat what it has done before. The planets dutifully circle the sun, the herd of cows participate in their daily activities with little variation, the human is comfortable doing what he has always done before. The habitual nature resists doing something that is not routine, that is out of the ordinary. It resists, complains, is reluctant to embrace change. It is, in essence, the material consciousness of our being, born of matter, embedded in our physical bodies that resists the new realities of life. It leads to reluctance, unwillingness to embrace new truths, unwilling to take on new tasks, unwilling to embrace new opportunities; willing to put off, procrastinate, reject, be insensitive to and ignore the progressive unfoldings of life. Which makes us in the truest sense Creatures of Habit.

Is there a way out of this conundrum? If we observe ourselves, we will see when we are expressing our habitual nature. We can then catch ourselves and reverse it. If my boss asks me to work weekends, I inwardly refuse, catch myself before expressing myself, and then tell him that I agree, then I have made a decisive change and negated the habitual nature. Moreover, life is bound to respond soon thereafter with instances of sudden good fortune. One man did this very thing, and when he arrived at work, instantly produced the greatest sale of his life. In this way, we see that our mental capacities and awareness can overcome the rule that the habitual nature has over us.

We can go even further, however. When we live our lives from a poise of deeper consciousness within, away from the surface bubblings and influences of life, we are more capable of observing our negative tendencies, including our habitual nature. We become aware of life around us in its fullness, perceive the variations and possibilities, and from there are far more willing to shift and embrace the exigencies of life. At such points, we outgrow the material consciousness inherited from matter that drags on us, that keeps us in our place, that does not want to move or change. Gradually we break the shackles of the material consciousness, allowing our rational mental and spiritual capacities to become the leaders of our lives. Then we emerge into a new existence, a new way of living, beyond the limits of our habitual nature.

The Wandering People of Habit
A people wondered in the desert, lost, yet content with their habits of life. One day a stranger appeared before them, pointing to a distant hill, suggesting that there was a way out of their conundrum, to a green and happy land beyond. Weary, yet self-satisfied, the people smiled at the stranger, and continued on in their aimless journey across the barren land. You and I are that people.

Cause of Fixed Repeating Habit
The mind enjoys the predictability and cyclical unfoldings of life, even as it enjoys its own fixed, repeating habits. Perhaps we can say that in creation the one has become embedded in the other.

Bringing a Higher Level of Consciousness to an Act

It is said that we are creatures of habit. Yet a habit can be a confining thing, especially if we do it without enthusiasm and intensity or emotion � i.e. just as a routine. However, if we break the habit and perform the act at a higher level, and therefore differently, not only will we energize the activity, but we will energize our own lives.

Any act can be undertaken at a higher level. For example, a typical routine, like brushing our teeth, heating up our food, or shopping in the store is something we do habitually, without much thought or emotion, which means it is occurring at the physical level. Yet we have the capacity to break the habit and do it at a higher level, i.e. more consciously. E.g. when I shop, I can ask myself if I'm neglecting other areas that need attention; such as my garden or my outdoor furniture; or if I am shopping without regard to cost; or whether I am purchasing things that are unnecessary. By doing so, I elevate the act from physical habit to a mentalized undertaking, which energizes both the activity and ourselves. Also, doing so invariably attracts positive developments. E.g., you suddenly learn that outdoor furniture is available at a radically reduced prices, which is just what you needed for your limited budget.

Thus, what we do at the current level, can be done at a higher level, energizing the act and attracting good fortune. What we do physically as routine can be done with greater emotion. What we do at the vital level of emotion and enjoyment can be added mental aspects of understanding and insight. And what we do at the mental level can be done higher still through powers of the Spirit. E.g. in the act, we can call in the spiritual Force, which will divinize and enable us to gain the full cooperation of life in that activity. Or in any situation, we can move to utter peace and calm, i.e. non-reaction, which can also elicit powerful positive results.

At every moment, we are capable of bringing a new freshness to an act by raising our level of consciousness relative to it. That not only energizes the activity and ourselves, but evokes Luck from the environment. This being the case, why not consider one or two acts that you do routinely in the course of your day, and then try to perform them with greater emotion, mentality, or spiritual capacity. If you the garner the magic like response from life, you will see how the smallest little thing can be a lever for changing your entire existence.

Utilizing Spirit to Gain the Power of Will Over Bad Habits
The keys to changing a bad habit are (1) a sincere desire to change the habit, (2) a knowledge of the reasons that the habit is wrong, (3) and a persistent will and drive to actually make the change. Without the desire nothing will occur. Gaining the knowledge is relatively easy, as it becomes obvious to any practical person in life. The will and effort to make the actual change may be the hardest part since many are weak willed.

Perhaps the best way, method to enable the change is the utilization of Spirit. Invocation of the Spirit will be found to reinforce the desire to change. Patience and persistence, regardless of the extent of the result, will result in tangible results over time. Those results will be full and will never be lost. The Spirit can also be invoked to have instantaneous results. Still when it is possible this way, it is desirable to go along the path of slowly and steadily enlisting the consenting will. Will enlightened is will conquered. Invocation of the Spirit will raise the mental will to the Spiritual WILL. (Paraphrase of MSS)

Overcoming Habits, Acting from Knowledge, that Avoids Illness
The body acts from habits, making for rigidity. He who acts from knowledge, finds his body more supple. To raise the level of the act and to act form the rules of the spirit, the body becomes so flexible that diseases find it hard to lodge in the body. (MSS)

Another Road Taken at Fort Mason
Have you ever considered the extraordinary power of changing or discarding a routine or habit of yours? When we perceive something we have been doing repeatedly in the past, envision a new or different way of doing it, and then willfully carry it out, life tends to suddenly cooperate with our efforts, producing results that can border on the miraculous.

One day not too long ago, I decided to break one such routine. On this occasion, I decided not to walk through a large hilly park that overlooks San Francisco bay, which would have deposited me in the touristy Fisherman's Wharf area. Instead of climbing through that elevated park with its lovely view of the Golden Gate, I decided to explore the three long piers known collectively as the Fort Mason Center. These edifices, left over from Civil War days, are now divided into dozens of sections -- including headquarters for renowned dancing and theater troupes, offices for environmental and global movements, various California cuisine restaurants, and other interesting and unusual facilities. It has become a kind of mecca for the cutting edge, and the sometimes far out.

The first place I stopped at Fort Mason Center was a store that was dedicated to presenting the concept of time -- in particular, to showcasing a number of magnificent, unusually large timepieces. For example, prominently displayed was a 10-foot computerized clock that was created to be accurate for up 10,000 years. It, like others on display, consisted of an astonishing array of gears and other moving parts.

At the time, I was the only one in the center, aside from the host. As I walked around the facility, I could hear soft, ethereal-like music playing in the background, which added to the already mystical atmosphere of the museum. Other than presenting these marvelous futuristic devices, the intent of the facility (longnow.org) was to capture the feeling of time itself -- or perhaps the timelessness of time. In fact, throughout the facility were posted a number of elaborate statements describing the nature of time -- including how we interact with it, what it really is, and others. There were also a number of books prominently displayed for sale on the subject. The entire experience was not only fascinating and thought provoking, but haunting and serene.

When I left the center, the guide asked me if I had any questions. However, finding myself in trancelike state, I could barely answer. As I exited the facility, I felt myself moving from the timeless like quality of that place back into time - i.e. into ordinary life. I then looked around to get my bearings, and continued on my walk. Not a minute later, I came upon San Francisco's most famous and venerable New Age restaurant, Greens. Now over 25 years old, it is recognized as the home of the vegetarian movement in America, and one of the pioneer restaurants in the use of locally grown produce in the preparation of its meals. This very large restaurant has a spectacular view of the Golden Gate and environs, and is one of the main gathering places for the intelligentsia of San Francisco and Silicon Valley.

When I walked into the facility to see how things had changed, I saw that it pretty much looked the same; except it was a bit more modern, and the people were younger. As I contemplated entering the enormous main dining area, a man standing a few steps above me suddenly interrupted and called down in my direction. "Excuse me sir," he said to me, "do you have the time?"

Indeed, I was bowled over by the question, when you consider considering where I had just been! I then quickly responded that it was 2pm. Then I looked at my watch once more and called out that it was actually five minutes to 2. (I guess I felt compelled to be accurate since I had just been in a place dedicated to the specificity of time!) Shaking my head and smiling at this extraordinary little response from life, I then headed out of the restaurant. As I looked around, I could still feel that sense of timelessness and peace enveloping me.

Now in the bright light of the day, I noticed that I could walk completely around the 300-meter pier, which would in effect deposit me at the bay's edge. And so I did just that, discovering one of the most spectacular views I had ever seen in this city of many such views. Also, I noticed that the weather was somewhat unusual, as it was overcast directly above me, yet the entire bay - with its shimmering hills and mountains in the distance -- was crystal-like, bathed in brilliant sunshine. The contrast was at once breathtaking and surreal, which was for me yet another response on this startling little "road not taken" adventure. As I stood there all alone at the end of the pier with its magnificent view, I felt the wonder and magic of life compressed into a single moment.

After that stirring, almost cosmic-like experience, I headed back inland to explore the other two piers. In fact, I was really looking for a special place that I believed was located somewhere in the third. A moment later, I then came upon the bookstore that I was looking for: one that I had visited once before nearly a decade earlier.

When I looked around the large facility, it looked at once familiar, yet somehow different. As I am want to do, I then immediately headed over to peruse the books on spirituality and religion. This time however, after rummaging though the shelves, I found nothing that caught my fancy. Slightly disappointed, and without much energy to peruse the plethora of other bookshelves, I decided to leave the facility. However, just before I exited the front door, I noticed a section of books prominently displayed that were marked down to half price. Immediately, I found an interesting book that I thought a friend of mine would enjoy. Then something very special happened. I found a book on the subject of how to write spiritual books, and, in particular, how to submit them to literary agents. In fact, the book contained a listing of a number of agents -- with explicit, detailed information about each. I found this utterly astounding because in the last several weeks I had been constantly thinking about how to find an agent and publishing house for my new book! Now in one fell swoop, all my prayers were answered! In fact, as I walked out of the store, it occurred to me that this book could turn out to be the most important discovery of my life!

Like shifting away from a negative attitude, changing or overcoming a habit tends to attract instances of sudden good fortune. When I decided to get out of my dull walking routine and try something different, I was set on a journey that unfolded like a dream -- with unexpected occurrences, mystical like experiences, and infinite-like results.

Likewise, each of us can identify one or more dead or dull routines in our own lives, and experience that same sort of magic. If we come upon a habit or ritual that has no life behind it, and then try to do it differently, life will suddenly open up before us. What was once limited and finite will suddenly blossom. What was dull and unexciting will instantly energize. In that way, our fixed, dull habits and routines will begin to give way, attracting not only startling positive life response results, but in that process bring us moments of great happiness and joy.

That is precisely what happened to me on that mystical-like, sun-dappled afternoon at the shoreline of Fort Mason!

Thoughts on the Nature of the (Limiting) Physical Consciousness and Habit

MSS Article on Habits

To Be Categorized

Habits, Routine

Going Beyond Our Set Ways and Beliefs

We constantly go back to our set ways and beliefs, instead of being open to the wider possibilities, including the inputs of others. Sometimes it is out of ego, other times out of resistance, and other times still simply due to attachment to our fixed habits and routines. It prevents us from accomplishing at a higher level and harvesting the rewards that come with it.

Each time we interact with others, we will see this tendency to stay with what is comfortable to us, instead of what is truly necessary or what others are indicating or suggesting. We are mindlessly out of touch with what is occurring and what is being subtly suggested. Reacting properly -- consciously, openly, self-givingly -- to new, developing circumstance is to be truly in the moment, to live in the ever-Present, which Life loves to respond to in a positive way.

Forcing the Body to Make the Extra Effort

Q: I know life responds to making the extra effort. But I am very lazy by nature and tend not to take to any physical exertion. What am I to do?

A: The physical body and consciousness does not want to move. It therefore needs to be "kicked" like a mule. ("You must move even though you don't want to. I command you.") It is in all of us to varying degrees. I have had a stubborn one myself. Also, extra effort has the ironic effect of creating far MORE energy than before. Once you perceive this, your mind will now be able to control your body, turning it from a stubborn mule to a cooperative swift horse.

Trying a Different Approach than the Failed Habit

If something is not working right after repeated tries, it's a good idea to think of and try out a fresh approach. You will be surprised by the positive results that ensue. It seems like common sense, yet it is easy to get attached to a particular method of failure. Habit has that effect on our being.

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