Paring down our obligations

An obligation is a requirement to take some course of action, whether legal or moral. Things we have to do. The aim of this technique is to try to find ways of reducing the ones we have by a process of elimination.

Method

Make a list of everything you have to do that might distract you.

• Pay the milkman
• Write to your aged aunty
• Fill in the census form
• Send your nephew a birthday card
• Order the week’s shopping from the supermarket
• Wash the dog’s mat
• Wash your husband’s shirts

Now question each one, is it really an obligation or do you only think it is?  Remove those that really are not obligations at all

You now have two options, you do them and get them out of the way or you delegate them to someone who is prepared to support you in this.

Get them done and out of the way.  Your mind is then free.  

The final step is to look at the list of obligations that are there on an almost permanent basis and ask yourself whether there is not some way in which you could simplify your life a bit and not take on quite as much, again delegation or a change of life style might work.

He is a check list to help you, fill it out then use it on an ongoing basis to make sure it is always up to date and you have made a decision about what to do.

This is a technique that can be used by a person on their own, but there are techniques that can be used by another person – preferably a trained hypnotherapist,  psychotherapist or other qualified honest person, which are intended to help you temporarily forget your obligations for the purposes of having a spiritual experience. They use the  techniques on you, you just sit back and let it happen.

For a description of these methods see – Milton Erickson obligation reduction

Observations

For iPad/iPhone users: tap letter twice to get list of items.

• Epictetus - The Enchiridion - 12
• Epictetus - The Enchiridion - 19, 20, 21, 22, 23