right action
Right Action: Noble Eightfold Path - Part 4
The forth tenant of the Nobel Eightfold Path is Right Action. Right action covers a wide 
range of activities and behaviors.
Buddha breaks Right Action down as follows:
1. One should not harm others and abstain from taking the life of a sentient being, including suicide.
2. To abstain from taking what is not given which includes stealing, robbery, fraud, deceitfulness and dishonesty.
3. To abstain from sexual misconduct.
In a nutshell, right action means to act kindly and with compassion. It also means to be honest with ourselves and others, even though honesty may bring a bit of pain in the short term.
We are faced each and every day with monumental choices - we can choose to act rightly or wrongly. Wrong choices lead to suffering. Right choices to amazing joy.
I'll be the first to admit that lately I've made a lot of wrong choices and acted in ways that have brought me suffering. It's been all too easy to complain about things surrounding work. Some of my comments have brought suffering to others and anguish to my soul. I realize that making the right choices and deciding to act rightly is something I have to work at constantly.
Each action I take has an effect. This is something that cannot be denied or forgotten. I know when I act rightly - I know when I'm on the verge of choosing wrong action. No matter how easy it is to deny it...most of us know deep down inside what we should do.
So how do we begin living a life of Right Action? It's all to easy to get bogged down by our past actions as we think back over all of our wrong actions. But it is vital that we let go of our past actions and live in the present.
Beginning is simpler than we think. It all starts this moment and continues moment by moment! We must forgive ourselves for past wrongs and ask for forgiveness - then move on. Powerful is the moment in which we realize that our pasts don't have to tie us down in the present. We are free to act rightly and boldly NOW!
- Post by Jen Engevik of Project BE Bold
The Noble Eightfold Path - A Recipe for Bold Living
Subscribe to Daily Cup of Boldness -Thought for the Day
Ever heard of the famous and beautiful Noble Eightfold Path taught by Buddha centuries ago? No matter what your religious or spiritual persuasion, you can learn from it and use it to gauge whether or not your actions, thoughts and/or decisions are bold/noble.
The Noble Eightfold Path refers to right view, right thought, right speech, right behavior, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.
Right View means to believe in the law of cause and effect and not be deceived by appearances and desires.
Right Speech means the avoidance of lying words, idle words, abusive words, and double-tongues.
Right Behavior means not to destroy any life, not to steal, or not to commit adultery.
Right Livelihood means to avoid any life choices that would bring shame.
Right Effort means to try to do one's best diligently toward the right direction.
Right Mindfulness means to maintain a pure and thoughtful mind.
Right Concentration means to keep the mind right and tranquil for its concentration, seeking to realize the mind's pure essence.
May we challenge ourselves to choose to follow the Noble Eightfold Path in our moment to moment attempt to live bold & amazing lives.
To gain a deeper understanding of the Noble Eightfold Path, we'll take a close look at each of them over the next 8 days. I'd love to get your ideas surrounding them as we explore. Please leave comments in the next week!! Your thoughts will help shape our understand of them and inspire each other to live bolder, more thoughtful lives.
- Jen Engevik of Team Project BE Bold
Subscribe to Daily Cup of Boldness -Thought for the Day
Boldness Grows with Bold Choices
Our quest for boldness is one that we must take moment by moment. We must look at 
it like this...things happen throughout our day, and we are always faced with decisions. We can either choose the bold (right) way of action or we can choose the limited (weak) way.
For instance, say that your friend calls you and asks you to do something. Your mind says, "I need a break...I really don't want to do it." You can either be direct and truthful and say "I need a break. Let's do it another day, or you can weave a convoluted story that paints an untrue, over-dramatic story. Being direct is the bold way to act. Weaving a story takes energy from both you and the listener.
Or...say you are at work and you make a mistake. You can blame others or circumstances, or you can stand up and say, "I made a mistake...it is my fault." The bold course of action takes the confusion and negative energy from the moment and then you move on to correcting the situation.
Or finally, when faced with the decision to gossip or share negative thoughts about others, the bold decision is to say something positive or try with all of your might to say nothing at all. Bold living doesn't have time for petty thoughts that aren't empowering.
Each day we are faced with decisions and we become bolder and happier when we make the right decisions -- even though bold action may be scary or cause momentary setbacks. Successes built on wrong action lead to future pains and failures.
The soul craves simplicity. Bold action will get you there...