Edition 22: Ziji: supreme self-confidence and infinite power.

Hi lifelong learners,

I hope you’ve had a great week visualizing and being grateful. I also hope that all of you are finding time to be mindful. Soon, I will lay the foundations of meditation for you. Mindfulness is the first step. 

This week, I will tell you about a beautiful Tibetan strategy or practice to create supreme self-confidence and determination to do what you want. As I’ve mentioned, many of us are pressured from outside to do certain things and forced to sublimate our real passions because they are not practical or money-earning.

With the Internet rapidly becoming the first and foremost marketplace for the whole world – predicted to be 5.3 billion people and by this time next year, 2025 – 6.54 billion – the sky is the limit for how you can generate an income. To find true happiness, you must spend your life doing what you like and living first-hand, not second-hand. Living second-hand is liable to damage your mental health if you do it for a long time. To help you understand this more deeply, you might be interested in viewing another of my newsletters, ‘Well-being, Work and Wealth’ here on LinkedIn. Forgive me if you already know about it or have even joined. 

So, if you have your whole life ahead of you, consider some ideas I am showcasing in the other newsletter. It’s only in its 4th edition this week, so you haven’t missed much.

Anyway, back to Ziji. As you may know, I was a Tibetan Buddhist for a long time and almost became a monastic until I realized my place was here in samsara – roughly translated as the world of suffering and loss. I also learned many fantastic study techniques from them, which I’d like to share a little of here. 

They are amazingly devout and serious people. The whole nation is Buddhist, but when the Chinese invaded Tibet back in 1950, they started to destroy temples and slaughter monks systematically. That’s another topic I don’t have space to go into here. So, some of the highest-level monks and teachers were quickly smuggled out of Tibet into India and even further afield in Europe. I was honoured to work in the UK and France with three excellent teachers, now world authorities when I was a younger woman! So, you can be sure I learned from the best!

Cultivating Brilliance - Nurturing Your Ziji on the Learning Path

Ziji is more than confident, which is an intellectual idea. It is radiant energy which transcends merely feeling good about yourself. Tibetans say if you are mindful enough, you can tap into your heart’s energy and let it shine. Some time back, I featured your inner diamond and how it needs polishing.  

Beyond a skill or trait, Ziji is a profound state of total awareness. Connecting with your Ziji unlocks a powerful source of confidence that enhances your presence in any learning or training situation. It doesn’t mean that you become dominant or aggressive – Buddhists rarely resort to this kind of behaviour – but instead, you are bright and present in a gorgeous way that inspires others while making what you are studying clear as a bell and completely compelling. It aids concentration. Tibetans use it mainly to allow them to meditate deeply for long periods.

Cultivating Ziji means that you believe in your inner brilliance and acknowledge that it is unlike any other’s. It affirms that you know you have everything you need to succeed in whatever you do; inside, you already.

Recognizing your Ziji to embrace your learning journey fully will help you navigate the setbacks you may experience with resilience, and you will emerge wiser with each challenge. In a way, it becomes your learning companion.

It’s not just about bravery; it’s a deep belief in your capacity to endure—a marathon mindset for your educational journey.

Ziji isn’t just personal confidence; it bridges the gap between your academic pursuits and daily life. Treat your mistakes as opportunities for refinement. Tibetans say that it sharpens their intellectual sword like a whetstone.  

Activating your Ziji is an ongoing process. At this stage, after all you have learned from this newsletter, it’s time to review: Are you: 

• Reflecting on your academic strengths right now?
• Reaping the rewards of practising mindfulness and applying it to your life every day?
• Broadening your perspectives even further – you may be engaged in studying one topic or training, but think outside that box as a life-long learner and apply your skills and knowledge to your life and the lives of others.
• Engaging in more creative learning activities going back and utilizing some of the strategies I taught you at the beginning in Editions 1-8?
• Inspiring your fellow learners/trainees by creating a ripple effect of empowerment and courage in education?

As you progress in your learning journey, trust in your Ziji. The academic success you seek might already be within you, waiting to be activated. Your inner brilliance isn’t just a guiding star; it’s woven into the fabric of your being. 

Embrace your Ziji and let the world benefit from the radiance of knowledge you were meant to share.

Keep shining bright in your learning endeavours!

How to get in touch with Ziji

The header image of this edition depicts the wheel of Dharma – an ever-turning wheel of wisdom and compassion. If you gaze at this in a mindful practice, it may help you to imagine this incredible force inside you. 

The Earth would be different if everyone accessed their Ziji and lived first-hand, not through and for others. 

You are unique. Your mind, perceptions and behaviour are like no one else’s. Ziji potentizes your amazing one-of-a-kind energy and gives you all the courage you need to live according to it. You are never compromising your values. 

As I said last week, the outside Universe is a mirror image of your inner Universe. They work together, and every thought and feeling you have creates your life. Yes, you can create your life daily with the right positive thoughts and emotions.

Mindful Practice 7

Before you get out of bed in the morning (tomorrow’s Sunday, so perhaps you can have a lazy morning), get into a mindful stage using the five stages.  

When you are mindful, reach out to thoughts and feelings of gratitude, which I mentioned in Mindful Practice 6 last week. Be grateful for the warmth of your bed, a loving partner next to you, a rested body and the prospect of a lovely breakfast or morning drink. The weather may be brilliant, so be grateful for that. If not, be thankful that you have a solid shelter over your head and an environment you have chosen.

Once you are grateful, then connect with your Ziji. Feel your uniqueness. Your infinite potential. Your strength and courage to live first-hand according to your creative capacity. And smile that you have everything you need to be Happy inside you!

Gazing at the Wheel of Dharma above may help. Or below, a Tibetan baby monk is oozing with unconditional love and Ziji.

Unfortunately, social conditioning and expectations can cause us to mislay our Ziji, but I’m sure you shone with it as a child. 

Well, that’s it today. I wish you a magical week evoking your Ziji. Please don’t hesitate to ask me questions or make comments below.

A reminder about free Touch Your Heart Everyday emails to help keep you mindful. 

Loving Kindness to you all

Yours zijily

Linden