Showing posts with label positive thinking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label positive thinking. Show all posts

Monday, January 10, 2011

Do Unto Yourself

Too many people are living in a prison that they have themselves manufactured.
- Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith

 


Your mind is given to you as a tool.  It is very useful indeed.  It allows you to contemplate and reason.  It allows you to plan and remember.

It also allows you to imprison yourself, held captive by shame and regret.  Beaten down by your own thoughts and rendered immobile in a belief that you are an undeserving failure.

Every time you beat yourself up, you cast another iron bar in your self imposed prison.  Every time you believe that little voice in your head that says unkind things, you allow demons to rule your world.

Imagine your child making a mistake and verbally abusing themselves for it.  As a parent, you would immediately rush in explaining that mistakes are just mistakes.  In short, shit happens.  But we all move forward and just intend to do better next time.

Why is that so hard to believe about ourselves?

Why do we believe that we should never slip up?  Why do we deny our human-ness.  Why do we understand and accept with grace and kindness, the mistakes of others while belittling and blaming ourselves?

I believe in the golden rule which says, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."  And I believe that generally speaking, we DO.

However, I think a more useful and accurate rule for the advancement of our own humanity and self love would be to "Do unto yourself as you do unto others."

Give yourself the same kindness and understanding as you do to others.  Don't berate yourself.  Don't hate yourself.  Any being that acts out in negatively perceived ways only does so out of fear.

Why would you bully someone who is afraid?

If you're disappointed in yourself, vow to change.  Vow to do better.  Vow to BE better.

But no one ever felt inspired to be MORE because they were bullied or belittled into it.  LOVE is what inspires.  Love is what transcends the mind and the mind made demons.

All you need is love.






The Beatles on Amazon.com










Great Titles by Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith 
 

Life Visioning: A Four-Stage Evolutionary Journey to Live as Divine Love
Life Visioning

Spiritual Liberation: Fulfilling Your Soul's Potential
Spiritual Liberation

Inspirations Of The Heart
Inspirations of the Heart



Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Roses

Instead of complaining that the rosebush is full of thorns, be happy that the thorn bush has roses.
- Proverb



I have been laid up in bed for three days with a wicked cold. It is my goal to have a post here before 11am every morning, and it is currently, as I type this, 10:43am.

Coming here to get a daily dose of depth is the only reason I sat up. Yup, I'm in my bed, with my laptop.

I am trying to be at peace with this virus and I'm having a little trouble :)

The roses.
I have nowhere to be, so no one is missing me, and I can take my time and not worry about it.

The kids are home on vacation, but they're older now and pretty darn self sufficient. They're actually taking care of ME.

The animals keep gathering around to snuggle me with their warm, furriness.

I have Frasier reruns on DVR to watch and a whole box of my favorite tea.

This is really my own fault. This is what I get for eating so so so much sugar over the holidays, not to mention the other unhealthy choices in food. I did a lot of drinking too, which is actually very unlike me, but done just the same.

I guess one can only weaken their body so much before dis-ease creeps in.
sigh*
This too shall pass.



Great Titles from Amazon

The Doctors Book of Home Remedies: Quick Fixes, Clever Techniques, and Uncommon Cures to Get You Feeling Better Fast Alternative Cures: More than 1,000 of the Most Effective Natural Home Remedies 1801 Home Remedies


Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Empowering Thoughts

We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.
– Carlos Castaneda




I thought this was a beautiful quote to ponder on the early morning of the Winter Solstice.

I have been looking forward to the changes in me that this new cycle brings in.  One of my "New Year's Resolutions" is to be more diligent in my thoughts toward other people.

I'm going to think about them.  Thinking is what we DO.

I intend to send more powerful and light filled thoughts out to everyone who crosses my mind.
I intend to send fewer thoughts of disagreement, dislike, discomfort, anger, resentment, ego, gossip, etc..

It's going to take me the same amount of time and effort to think either thing, but while one train of thought will empower, the other will tear down.

I don't want to feel the need to tear down to assuage my ego anymore.  I am giving up the need to be right or superior.  I have been giving it up, little by little, over these past few years, but I feel like I'm in a place now where I'll be able to let more, and possibly then rest, go.

It occurs to me that, if I encountered a person who was sleep walking, enthralled with the belief that the dream in which they walk, is real, I would never try to make them feel like less for their state of awareness.  If anything, I would gently nudge them hoping they awaken.

The light filled, loving thoughts and actions are the nudge.

You will never belittle, shame, or guilt anyone into being more loving.  You can only love them into it.








Great Titles by Carlos Castaneda


The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, 40th Anniversary Edition
The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge

Separate Reality
A Separate Reality

The Wheel Of Time: The Shamans Of Mexico Their Thoughts About Life Death And The Universe
The Wheel of Time:
The Shamans of Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life and Death





Wednesday, November 10, 2010

A Good Morning to You

"Every morning when we wake up, we have a choice to either open to a potential miracle and celebrate it, or to choose complaint and control."

- Deepak Chopra

*****
I also recently heard Joel Osteen talking about how every morning is a gift of joy from God just waiting for us to open and unfold in it.  And it's up to us to accept the gift of joy we're given each day.

One of my very first observances in the morning upon waking is how cozy and warm I am in my bed.  That simple observation of pleasure makes me smile and sets the stage for my entire morning.


Blissful Sleep With Deepak ChopraEnvoking The Gods Of HealingLight Body Meditation

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Pearls




"A pearl is a beautiful thing that is produced by an injured life. It is the tear [that results] from the injury of the oyster. The treasure of our being in this world is also produced by an injured life. If we had not been wounded, if we had not been injured, then we will not produce the pearl."


Stephan Hoeller



*****

Exaserbating the Issue

Often we make our problems much larger than they are.

Don't look for the worst case scenario.  Look for the best possible angle.

You're going to find whatever point of view you seek, so purposefully seek a point of view that makes the task at hand sound easier.

Look for reasons why the task at hand will be a cinch, not for reasons why you're might fail!

*****

Where have you been?
Who has victimized you?
How bad was your childhood?

Extraordinary people survive under the most terrible circumstances and they become more extraordinary because of it.
—Robertson Davies

It is within your pain that greatness grows.  Choose to be great!

*****

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Is The Law of Attraction Just a Theory?

By John E Peace

In understanding the Law of Attraction, we come to realize that we attract into our lives whatever we give our Attention, Energy and Focus to. Whether wanted or unwanted. That with synchronicity, we attract from the outside what we resonate with, on the inside, bringing into our life what we momentarily strongly focus upon. In other words that by having an optimistic attitude and focusing on success, one attracts these, while having a cynical depressed attitude attracts negative experiences.


Could this be true?

During my introduction to the Law of Attraction, I needed to make a shift to the positive; I'd surely had enough negative experience to last a lifetime. Before to long my life carried on staying the same, bills, debt, more bills, more debt, you get the picture.


What was happening?

Understanding the Law of Attraction principles was not a problem, I focused on the positive, and all I was getting was the same old deal. We are told that we need faith, we need to believe and be grateful and this elusive Law of Attraction will kick in. Great, I had the answer, say thank you to everyone and all would be OK!

The postman got a thank you for not bringing a bill, the trolley boy at the supermarket got one for leaving a trolley out for me, so did the checkout girl because there was no queue, I thanked the ATM machine, the bank manager, the kid on the bike, my computer, the cooker, heck I must be the most grateful person on the planet, this Law of Attraction ain't going turn me down.

After a few days of this everything started to go wrong, you guessed it, the postman brought a bill, the trolley boy left no trolley, the checkout girl left a queue, even the ATM stopped giving me money.


What's going wrong? What was I missing?

Then those words rang out at me again, in understanding the Law of Attraction process you needed Faith and Belief. But how could I Believe? This stuff hadn't worked up to now, so how could I believe? Tell me how it works and then I'll Believe, "You don't need to know, you don't know how electricity works, but you still use it"

But that's not fair! With electricity, I don't need faith, I plug the kettle in and get a steaming cup of coffee, whether I believe it or not.

So the question is, if I focus on the fact that I have little money, bad health, or a poor relationship, how and why does the Law of Attraction respond by giving me more of what I'm focusing on?

And if I shift my focus to the positive how do my desires come true? And this is the great secret of the secret, in understanding The Law of Attraction and knowing how it works, you'll start to trust it
Trust it and you'll start to believe it. Believe it, and it will start to respond and only then can you start to refine, mould, and create your desired reality.


So How and why does the Law of Attraction, work?

This is not an easy question to answer, arguably the first self-improvement guide that existed, which mentioned, or more accurately referred to the law attraction, was the First Testament. We therefore have to take a 'Spiritual' or 'Religious' view.


So do I argue the existence of a God?

But then again, it is science that has put the law of attraction, back on the modern day 'table'.
So do I argue the fact of science?

You see, throughout history, it has been a battle of science and religion, from astrology to evolution, you could not sit on the fence, were you blinded by science or misguided by religion?
This is a dawn of a new age, where religion will need to embrace its own evolution, and science its spirituality.

Our minds are like parachutes, only functioning properly when fully open, and now is the time to 'Pull The Cord'. But for many people any consideration to the principles behind the way the Law of Attraction work is a futile exercise unless we can prove this Law.


Is it that the Law of Attraction, is just a theory?

Strictly speaking it is, but there is some confusion between what "theory" means informally, compared to a "theory" of science. In the scientific sense, a theory is a group of general propositions used as principles to explain a condition or phenomena.


So does this mean that the law, Attraction is uncertain?

Not at all, or more accurately speaking, as uncertain as electricity, gravity and evolution. Ah, I here you say, electricity and gravity are governed by laws! True, and here's the difference, a theory does not imply lack of certainty, but explains the reason for seeing a result, to our best understanding, a law however, implies that the results we see can be calculated in controlled conditions. Yes but as a theory, the law, Attraction has no proof!


Ok, but does that make it weak?

Has anything in the physical world ever been proved? Or will it ever be?

In the real world, we must deal with levels of certainty based on evidence. The more and better evidence we have for something, the more certainty we assign to it; when there is enough evidence, we label the something a fact, even though it still isn't 100% certain, or fully understood.

To use proof as an argument against the 'theory' of the law 'Attraction', is ridiculous ... you might as well argue that gravity is a theory, and that we can't assume objects will always fall to the ground, after all it's far from being completely understood.

What the Law Attraction has, is what any good scientific claim has, evidence, and lots of it. A wide range of observations throughout history supports the law Attraction and to challenge the theory, Attraction, you must address that evidence.

You must show that the evidence is either wrong or irrelevant, or that it fits another theory better.
Of course, to do this, you must know both the theory and the evidence. So what is the evidence of this law Attraction? One of the most successful self-help books of all time was a 25 year study of success principles documented by Napoleon Hill in his books Law of Success and Think and Grow Rich
Think and Grow Rich Hill refers to the law 'Attraction' as the 'Secret', which has made fortunes for more than five hundred exceedingly wealthy men whom he carefully analyzed over a long period of years.

This secret, the Law of Attraction, was brought to Hill's attention by Andrew Carnegie, asking Hill if he would be willing to spend twenty years or more, taking this principle to the world, to men and women who, without the secret, might go through life as failures.

This book contains the secret law Attraction, after having been put to a practical test by thousands of people, in almost every walk of life. It was Mr. Carnegie's idea that the magic formula, which gave him a stupendous fortune, ought to be placed within reach of people who do not have time to investigate how men make money, and it was his hope that Hill might test and demonstrate the soundness of the formula through the experience of men and women in every calling.

He believed the formula should be taught in all public schools and colleges, and expressed the opinion that if it were properly taught it would so revolutionize the entire educational system that the time spent in school could be reduced to less than half.

Napoleon Hill analyzed hundreds of well known men, many of whom admitted that they had accumulated their vast fortunes through the aid of the Carnegie secret; among these men were: Ford, Wrigle, Wanamaker, Roosevelt, Hubbard, Wright, Schab, Gillette, Rockefeller, Edison, Woolworth and Bell.

"These names represent but a small fraction of the hundreds of well known Americans whose achievements, financially and otherwise, prove that those who understand and apply the Carnegie secret, reach high stations in life. I have never known anyone who was inspired to use the secret, who did not achieve noteworthy success in his chosen calling. I have never known any person to distinguish himself, or to accumulate riches of any consequence, without possession of the secret. From these two facts I draw the conclusion that the secret is more important, as a part of the knowledge essential for self-determination, than any which one receives through what is popularly known as education."

I do suggest that you read Think and Grow Rich, which you can download from the Law-of-Attraction-Guide Pdf Library. However Hills preceding book, The Law of Success, is a much clearer and concise version, but, an extremely rare book!

The Law of Success is one of our study books in the Law-of-Attraction-Guide Training Programme Unlock The Power of You
The Complete Law-of-Attraction-Guide

Exploring the ways that you can Apply and Master the Law of Attraction. With free resources, eBooks and Conceive-Believe-Achieve Magazine. Can you really bring into your life anything you desire?
http://www.law-of-attraction-guide.com/index.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_E_Peace


  

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Is The Law of Attraction Really A Law?

By James Napier

Is the Law of Attraction a Law? To answer, let's define the Law of Attraction. "I attract to my life whatever I give my attention, energy and focus to, whether positive or negative," says Michael J. Losier in his book Law of Attraction, The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don't.

"We speak learnedly of the Law of Gravitation, but ignore that equally wonderful manifestation, The Law of Attraction in the Thought World," William Walker Atkinson wrote in his 1908 treatise Thought Vibration or The Law of Attraction in the Thought World.

Atkinson saw Thought as "a Force - a manifestation of energy - having a magnet-like power of attraction," and he claimed the reason life denies us what we desire is "we close our eyes to the mighty law that draws to us the things we desire or fear, that makes or mar our lives."

If we fall in love with whatever it is we desire to attain, if it becomes our ruling passion or desire, then the Law of Attraction, Atkinson believed, kicks in.

The Law, he assured his readers, will draw negative events to us if we're always negative and the things we desire if we maintain a positive state of mind and do not waver from our intended purpose.
Some people, including talk show host Larry King, have doubts about the efficacy of The Law of Positive Attraction because, it seems to bypass those born into awful poverty and starvation who will, no matter how positive their thoughts, probably die without a chance to ever raise themselves out of the circumstances into which they were born.

Witness what's going on in Darfur.

So is The Law of Attraction a Law as real as gravity or is it a work in progress - a "habit" of the universe rather than a ironclad Law?

Rupert Sheldrake, biologist with a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Cambridge University, has written more than ten books including A New Science of Life and The Presence of the Past. Sheldrake says most of the laws of nature, as well as the universe, are more habits rather than Laws.

He states, "There is no need to suppose that all the laws of nature sprang into being fully formed at the moment of the Big Bang, like a kind of cosmic Napoleonic code, or that they [these Laws] exist in a metaphysical realm beyond time and space."

Eternal laws make sense to us. Aren't they why the universe works? This would seem, at first glance, to be the case.

Sheldrake thinks differently. He believes the universe learns, just as we do. Nature progresses, the laws of nature also progress, just as human laws evolve over time. Sheldrake's years of research have led him to conclude that the Laws of the Universe, so-called, are habits it has learned over time.

The more habits are repeated "the more probable they become, other things being equal." Habits of past members of the species are transmitted, he says, "through a kind of non-local resonance, called morphic resonance."

"Many kinds of organisms have habits," Sheldrake writes, "but only humans have laws."

Through what he calls Morphic resonance "the patterns of activity in self-organizing systems [which we are; which the universe is] are influenced by similar patterns in the past, giving each species and each kind of self-organizing system a collective memory," which is then integrated into what we humans call Laws but are actually habits of the species - and habits of the cosmos.

If Sheldrake is right, and I'm not arguing that he is, his theories would seem to suggest a different view of the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction, therefore, may not be an eternal law but a habit progressing toward Law status. This "Law" may likely be a work in progress, not a final fact.

What does it mean when we hint that the Law of Attraction may be a work in progress and not an eternal law set in motion at the time of, or before, the origin of our universe, solar system, and earth?

The implications, actually, are pretty exciting.

In Self-Creation by George Weinberg, Ph.D., Weinberg indicates that "Every time you act you add strength to the motivating idea behind what you've done."

What this means is, "The act retypes the motivating message in your mind. When not acted on, the message becomes weaker as if fading from an electronic screen. When it is acted on it becomes brighter, louder, recharged, prompting more of the same acts." In other words, "Acting on any belief or feeling makes you believe or feel it more."

There is a two stage effect of any act, Weinberg says. "The immediate effect is to satisfy, assuage, reduce the motivating impulse behind it. The ultimate effect, however, is to strengthen it." The paranoid person, for example, who checks and rechecks the locks feels first stage relief, "and ultimate reinforcement of his paranoia."

How does what Weinberg is saying tie into our premise about "Law" of Attraction?

By the way, Self-Creation is not a book that mentions the Law of Attraction. It's about how our acts, our behaviors, intensify the motivating message behind the acts we perform which makes them, to a certain degree, habits - for better or worse.

Reading his book we discover that "Any acts of avoidance based on fear will entrench the fear,"
'Talking about our problems is the most impressive way a depressive keeps the depression going," Weinberg writes. "Start checking up on someone [you don't trust] and you'll become even more suspicious."
A man will never forgive you for the wrong he has done you," Weinberg says.

"That which I feared most has come upon me," Job in the Old Testament told his friends. Job blamed himself and his fears for his troubles. Doesn't Job's plight sound like the gravitation force of his fears, the "Law of Attraction" at work, making his worries visible? It would seem so, doesn't it?

It is a paradox that "Self-protection does not alleviate fear, it increases it."

"Love someone and they seem to become more worthy of your love," Weinberg writes.This how Law of Attraction advocates say the Law works. We attract the "vibrations" of other minds keyed to our thoughts.

In Using Your Mind For a Change, Richard Bandler observes that "Most people motivate themselves by thinking about how bad they will feel if they don't do something. A few people do the reverse. They use pleasant feelings as motivators. Those few," he writes, "live in an entirely different world than most people."

"Love someone and they seem to become more worthy of your love," Weinberg notes.
Is it possible that we, by our thoughts, actions, feelings, moods, and desires, for good or ill, are teaching the Habit of Attraction how to become the eternal Law of Attraction?

Might it be likely that all the wonderful things people who follow the "Law" of Attraction are doing - imagery, meditation, positive thinking, affirmations, cutting pictures of what they desire from magazines and creating Dream Boards - are showing the Habit of Attraction how, as a work in progress - to become a better, more dependable Law of Attraction?

If this is so, then the Habit of Attraction is Learning from us to become a better, more efficient, reliable friend and "Law" to our worthy desires, but it's also learning - from our human thought forms - how to create images on the screen of space colored by our inner fears and money worries as well as the images on our nightly network news.

Our thoughts are powerful Forces!

"Never lose sight of the great principle of autosuggestion," The great healer Emile Coue' told his patients who visited his clinic in Nancy, France, during the 1920's: "Optimism always and in spite of everything, even when events do not seem to justify it."

The Law of Habit of Attraction, learning from us and ever closer to becoming an eternal Law of Attraction - thanks to us - will, if we trust it - be a powerful ally.

"Then again he begins to set into motion the great Law of Attraction, whereby he draws to him help, and is, in turn, attracted to others who can aid him.," William Walker Atkinson writes. "This Law of Attraction is no joke, but is a great live working principle of Nature, as anyone may learn by experimenting and observing."
Whatever side you take in this discussion, it's always a good idea to remember the words of the comedian George Burns who said, "There's something to this thinking positive business!"

James Clayton Napier worked as a TV news anchor, talk show host, and feature story reporter in Texas for thirteen years. James interviewed thousands of people during his career from the highest and mightiest to those whose lives were so quiet they might never have been noticed had he not decided to tell their stories. He has also taught TV news reporting and speech communication at three universities. Learn more about James' current projects at http://dollarsloveme.blogspot.com

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