The Little Book of Clarity

A Quick Guide to Focus and Declutter Your Mind

Jamie Smart

• Publisher: Capstone
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9780857086051
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Mental Health & Wellbeing

Imagine what you could achieve if you could only clear your mind

The Little Book of Clarity shows you how to clear your head and get things done. Based on bestselling book, Clarity, this new edition has been distilled to the essentials, getting right to the point. With no vague theory or superfluous anecdotes, this book gets you right to work reducing stress and boosting productivity by uncovering your mind's in-built "self-clearing" capacity. As you begin to understand the concept of innate thinking, the benefits will start emerging in every corner of your life. As you think less, you'll win more — at work, at home, and at the game of life as a whole. You'll rid your mind of clutter for good as you focus on what matters, and finally free up the time you need to pursue your dreams.

Life's constant bombardment of "to-do" and "urgent" pushes your own priorities clear off the radar. Before you know it, you're always busy, but not getting very much accomplished. Personal goals fall by the wayside as you struggle just to keep up with day-to-day life. This book shows you how to cut the noise and clear the fog, and start working on what matters to you.

• Harness the power of insight and principles
• Discover your true identity and innate wisdom
• Build better relationships and stronger connections
• Discard toxic goals and pursue authentic desires

Clarity is the mind's natural state, a state to which it will always return if given the chance. Although it's evident in children, most adults have had this ability conditioned out of them by our "go-go-go" society, leaving them mentally muddy, stressed, and ineffectual. The Little Book of Clarity helps you erase that conditioning and gain the peace of mind to live a life you love — permanently.

PART ONE
The Essential Foundations

1
Misunderstanding: The Hidden Trap

“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Poet, playwright, novelist and philosopher

“An addict is someone who's trying to use a visible solution to solve an invisible problem…”

I started drinking when I was 12 years old and didn't stop for good until I was 30. On the journey of recovery, my life improved in ways that I didn't even imagine were possible. But, in the process, I discovered an even deeper addiction at the very heart of modern culture. This addiction is so subtle, it's almost invisible; a life-eroding trap that has hooked countless millions of people…

The hidden hamster wheel

The hidden hamster wheel is one of the most common barriers to clarity. It's based in a misunderstanding that's taken to be “obviously true” by most people. It's so subtle and pervasive that it shows up in everything from children's books to leadership programmes; from movies to marketing campaigns.

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The Power of Misunderstanding

In the 1800s, it was widely accepted that illnesses such as cholera and the plague were caused by “bad air” (also known as atmospheres or miasmas). At the time, huge numbers of people were moving to Soho in London, with an associated increase in sewage. The council of the day decided to dump the excess waste into the river Thames, unknowingly contaminating the water supply, and causing a cholera outbreak that claimed the lives of 618 Soho residents in just a few weeks.

The miasma theory was a misunderstanding that was seen as fact. As a result, the decision to pump sewage into the water supply was taken from within that misunderstanding. While you and I know it's crazy to let human waste anywhere near your drinking water, that's because we have a better understanding of how the world works.

Misunderstanding can lead to needless misery, suffering and even death. But as soon as people get a clearer understanding of the nature of reality as it already is, there can be a massive and widespread improvement in quality of life.

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The life-damaging misunderstanding that I call the hidden hamster wheel is the mistaken belief that our “core states” such as security, confidence, peace, love, happiness and success can be provided or threatened by our circumstances; by something “visible”.

We have this belief because we've been conditioned to believe that there's somewhere to get to, and that “there” is better than “here”. And “there” comes in a variety of tantalizing flavours that look something like this:

I'll be [happy/secure/fulfilled/peaceful/better/successful/ok] when I…

• Find the right work/hobby/partner/community – the “there” of doing and relationships.
• Get the money/write the book/start the business/lose the weight – the “there” of accomplishment.
• Change my thinking/my limiting beliefs/do my affirmations – the “there” of mindset.
• Meditate properly/find the right practice/get enlightened – the “there” of spirituality.

The “I'll be happy when…” trap is an example most people can identify with. The core states and circumstances vary, but the basic structure of the superstition is the same:

• I'll be [core state] when I have [circumstance]

It's based on an even simpler structure:

• [circumstance] causes [core state]

The idea that our core states are, at least to some degree, the result of our circumstances seems so “obvious” to people that calling it into question can seem ridiculous at first.

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Reality Check

I know what you may be thinking… “Are you really trying to tell me that my work doesn't actually stress me out? That my security doesn't come from money? That I don't feel love because of my partner? That I don't like going on holiday?”

Yes and no.

Your examples of your experience are real for you. I'm sure you can identify numerous circumstances where you experience certain feelings. I'm not saying you don't enjoy the things you enjoy, or that you shouldn't want the things that you want. What I'm saying is that the feelings aren't the result of the circumstances – they're coming from somewhere else entirely. And, as you start to understand where they're coming from, and how the system works, some wonderful things can start to happen.

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But I'm getting ahead of myself.

These days, I experience more clarity than I ever thought possible, but I didn't get here in the way you might expect.

In brief: I grew up in an alcoholic household and started drinking heavily when I was 12 years old. By age 19, I was a scholarship engineering student and a full-blown alcoholic. The alcohol was like rocket fuel for my life – I got jobs, was promoted rapidly, and started experiencing many of the trappings of success ...