Real Men
Right Deed
Changing habits

Mars

A real man has boundaries. He rebels when he has to. And crosses them to get to know himself.

Has your boss ever made a real mess of you even though you were in the right? Or something went against your inner values, for example a group of boys bullied another and you did nothing?

A real man rebels when something goes against his values. It doesn't matter who the person is. A real man has boundaries. Everyone has to respect them, whether it's the boss, women or our chancellor. I see men all the time who don't draw any boundaries and are treated like the last piece of shit.

Real men stand up and tell you clearly, without acting angry, that you have crossed a line. When their boss yells at them and insults them, they stand up and say something like:

"Enough, I can understand you, but you have crossed a line there. I'm not going to let you do that to me."

That applies to all areas. How many men in this world put up with any shit from a woman? Why? If a lady is 30 minutes late for a meeting, why does a man accept that? Then it's like: Listen, you can't be 30 minutes late. Either you're on time next time, or we don't meet again. The end.

Would you let a male friend get away with being half an hour late? It's a trivial example, there are certainly situations where the lateness can be explained, but the problem is a fundamental one: Most men today are not able to draw boundaries, no matter where.

A real man makes it clear where his boundaries are, what he tolerates and what he doesn't, because he respects himself!

Quote from men's literature

The Right Deed

External actions. These should not be disturbing for our fellow human beings.

• Where one’s inner being (consience) prompts one to act, carefully consider how one can best serve the good of the whole, the lasting happiness of others, the eternal, in the most appropriate way.
• Where one acts out of oneself - out of one’s own initiative - the effects of one’s actions are to be considered most fundamentally in advance.

One also calls this “the right deed”.

Eightfold Path

Changing habits

Do things in a different way than usual

Exercise

• Learn to do some things that you usually can do with the one hand, with the other hand. Eg. brush your teeth using your other hand for a week.
• Sit at a different place than usual.
• Sit in a chair the other way around, the backrest in front.
• Climb the first step of a staircase with the other foot than usual.

Tips

• In practicing this exercise, the decision of your ‘I’ guides the astral body which in turn leads the etheric body momentarily to take on a new pattern or form.
• It takes time to bring about changes in the astral body, and even more so in the etheric body.
• The older we get the more effort is required. If your chosen activity requires strenuous effort, it is a good sign. 
• Thus, choose an activity that is challenging … and carry it through. (Such as reading to the end of an email.)

Outcome

• When we do things quite differently than we do out of habit, it not only strengthens the control of the astral body over the etheric body, but also the etheric body itself. 
• In this exercise you guide your astral body with your ego. As a result, the etheric body takes on a new pattern or shape for a moment, which is like a pleasant massage for it and makes it flexible and alive.

Observe your deeds

Exercise

• After you have completed a deed or a task, take some time to look back at what you have done. When you reflect on it, it might motivate you to change the way you do things.
• This does not mean going through it again, but looking at it and perceiving what has come out of it. Be open-minded to get an impression of how you do things. Take a very simple and small deed as your exercise.
• For example, after you've written something, let your gaze wander over your handwriting and look at what you've written. How do you like it, what would you change? If you do this, your handwriting will correct itself over time with little effort.

Tips

• At first we are not trying to change what or how we do things, but just to look closely at what has been done.
• The exercise is about what is achieved by your action. For example, when washing the dishes, don't look at yourself, at your hands, but at things, e.g. how the brush turns clockwise, whether slowly or hastily, etc. And then how the dishes are stacked and how they shine.
• Enjoy the discoveries you will make, however subtle, and try to express them in your own words.

Observe yourself from without

Exercise

• Observe your own movement in everyday situations e.g.:
• the movement of the hand (visible)
• the movement of the head (perceptible)
• the way you laugh (assumable)
• Try to form a clear picture of your movements and gestures.
• Know how you move! Make yourself visually aware.

Tips

• Try doing the exercise with something you repeat a few times every day, for example eating, drinking, dressing, etc.
• Watch yourself doing something at different speeds. For example, the whole process of putting on your shoes.  Do it first at normal speed, then next time slowly, then quickly. Experiment playfully.
• Choose activities or gestures to observe yourself that engage different parts of your body. For example, getting dressed versus using a key to unlock a door. 
• You can become more aware of your particular way of moving if you compare your movement with others’, e.g., when eating with others, briefly observe how they use their cutlery, then observe yourself.
• After you have observed yourself moving or doing something, try to go over it in your mind and create a vivid moving picture of you carrying out the action. It will help you to further intensify your capacity of self-observation.
• Take care that you do not exaggerate the exercise and become self-centered and that looking at yourself from the outside becomes an unconscious habit.

Outcome of the observation exercises

• Consciously observing one's actions as if from without, can reduce restlessness. You take part in what you do.
• When you cultivate an awareness of your gestures and involuntary actions, and you teach yourself new habits you enhance the presence of your soul in your body. Thus, it becomes easier, if necessary, to refrain from certain actions or movements out of your free will.
• Apart from the fact that it may correct undesirable habits, this exercise also tends to consolidate the etheric body and your life forces.