Change your thinking, change your life

One of the most often repeated sayings in the New Thought movement is, "Change your thinking, change your life." Often this is said in explaining the Law of Attraction. It is also a fundamental principle of Religious Science as taught by Ernest Holmes. It has been said that if you keep doing what you've always done, you're going to keep getting what you've always gotten. The same is true of thoughts -- if you keep thinking the same way you always have, then your life will continue along the same track it has always taken.

If you have been plagued by negative thinking for a long time, it is very difficult to change. It's also difficult to internalize the understanding that negative thinking is a self-fulfilling prophecy. A person who always expects the worst is likely to get it. When he does, he is likely to see the outcome as validating his expectations, when in fact it was his expectations that created the outcome. If he can find a way to break this vicious circle for once, and give up his negative outlook even temporarily, he may learn the truth that what you put into the Universe is what you get out of it.

How can someone who has never experienced positive outcomes adopt a positive outlook? The first thing to do is to examine what you consider a positive outcome. Are you a glass-half-full or a glass-half-empty person? If you are always looking for something to complain about, you are always going to find it. On the other hand, if you are always looking for something to be thankful for, you will also find that. So even without changing a thing in the "outside" world, you can change the amount of enjoyment you get out of life by changing your focus.

There are a few things you can do to help with this change. First, you can consciously affirm the presence of good in your life. Make a mental inventory of things you are (or should be!) grateful for -- in other words, count your blessings. Be generous in this exercise. Don't let the words "but" or "except" creep into your thinking about the good things in your life. Just look on the bright side for once -- you've already given the dark side too much of your attention for too long! Later, when you are ready for more advanced techniques, you will affirm the good that is not yet tangible but nevertheless is just around the next corner.

Second, start watching your thoughts. Don't try to suppress any negative thoughts that come to you; just try not to react to them at all. Detach yourself from them and allow them to fade and vanish. Without your attention, they will. Become aware of how often you think about past unhappy events, compared to how often you enjoy happy memories. Be aware of the attention you are giving to the unpleasant aspects of experiences you are having today, right now, and of how many opportunities for even a moment's pleasure or happiness you are passing up. Notice how often you have gloomy thoughts about the future, and how often you generate positive expectations. Don't react or try to force your mind into a different way of thinking; just observe.

Once you have gotten into the habit of watching your thoughts, then try to discern where the negative ones are coming from. Is there a place in you that always seems to see clouds where there could be sunshine? Focus on this place for a time, not in such a way as to encourage or develop it, but simply to see how it operates. Knowledge is power, and knowledge of yourself is power over your Universe. Look also for the parts in you that seem to generate mostly positive thoughts and feelings. Why aren't they getting the same attention as the others? Shine the light of your love on these fertile fields, and count the beautiful flowers that spring into view. The things to which you give your attention are those that will flourish in your life.

There really is no such thing as a dark force. There is only love and the absence of love. You don't have a demon inside you making you think negative thoughts; you just have some places that haven't been exposed to the sunshine enough. There are places within us where we store pain. Disappointments, losses, abuse and mistreatment hurt us, and most of us have tucked away the pain from those events in various nooks and crannies of our psyches or our anatomies. When you have a negative expectation, ask yourself why, then observe the thoughts that come up from your subconscious. They may seem to be random, disconnected ideas, but noticing them may give you some clues to the buried pain tangled up in those sore muscles and that wounded ego. The more you learn about yourself, the easier it will be to release that hidden pain and free yourself from the pall it is casting over your life.

Once you feel you have gotten a handle on what is going on inside you, then it is time to start gently shaping your world by shaping your thoughts. When you have a positive thought, encourage it; turn it over in your mind, enjoy it, watch it develop and grow into a bright spot of happiness. When you see a negative thought coming, allow it to move right past. Don't try to shove it back down where it came from; that will just prolong the process of ridding yourself of those unwanted ideas and feelings. Just don't give it your attention and it will wither to dust and blow away.

While you are doing all this inner work, try to do the same with the world around you. Greet every person you meet with warmth and love. Look for things to be glad about, and shrug off those less-desirable things you would have obsessed about before you began this self-rescuing program. Above all, don't take on any new pains that you can avoid. If friends are in trouble or in pain, offer them sympathy but don't allow yourself to take on their suffering. That is their karma to work out, not yours; you have plenty of your own. On the other hand, share your own happiness with others, and allow them to share theirs with you. You'll find that happiness is not diluted but is multiplied by being shared. It's well known that changing your behavior can change your attitudes. Changing your outward interaction with the world will help you change yourself inwardly as well.

There's so much more to be said that hundreds of books have been written on the subject. If you'd like some recommendations, write me and tell me your story. I'd love to hear from you.

Namaste

Why are we so interested in the personal lives of celebrities?

The ego is constantly comparing itself to others. It is jealous of everyone, but particularly of attractive, wealthy celebrities. It takes pleasure in the misfortune of anyone, but again, especially celebrities. The ego does not understand that it is reinforcing its own unhappiness by focusing on the misfortunes of others.

Control

You cannot always control your circumstances, but you can always refuse to be controlled by them.

Mp3

Harmonious Oneness

The Teacher said,

"When I say you must find the God within yourself, I do not mean that God is hidden somewhere within you. Every cell in your flesh, every breath in your lungs, every sensation and feeling is God. What is needful is for you to become aware of this. When you meditate, be mindful of the energy that animates you. Feel the vibration of the Universe in your body. Let it resonate through your nerves and your veins. Let that resonance build until your body cannot contain it, and feel it bursting forth into the surrounding Universe. Then be aware that the same energy resonates in every being and every thing, and of the profound harmonies between your vibrations and theirs. Learn to ride those harmonies like ocean waves, to sustain their crescendos, and you will know oneness with the divine."

Mp3

Drawing Lines

The mind seeks to draw lines between people; the soul seeks to erase those lines.

Mp3

Live Beautifully

The essence of spiritual living is not to find a beautiful environment in which to live, but to find a way to live beautifully in any environment.

Selfless Love is Self Love

There are those who seem to love and think only of themselves. Fewer are those who seem to take no thought for themselves, but care deeply about others. The truth is that in order to truly love others, it is necessary to also love and care for yourself as a cherished child of God.

I was struck recently by the statement in a recorded lecture that Mother Teresa spent five hours a day in prayer and meditation. That means five hours devoted to developing and maintaining her personal connection with God. Was that selfish? Surely she derived unimaginable bliss from her daily practice. Anyone who has spent any amount of time in close communion with Spirit has felt some intimation of the peace and joy she experienced. Such a daily practice over many years must have opened her soul so wide as to encompass the entire world, and sustained her in her saintly path. She must have seen clearly her place in the heart and mind of God and known God as her beloved, herself as the beloved of God. Knowing God's love, who can withhold self love? It is no stretch of conjecture to suppose that it was this experience of oneness with God that enabled her to live the life that she did. By loving herself as a part of God, she was able to see the diseased and poverty-stricken people to whom she devoted her life -- her brothers and sisters, our brothers and sisters -- as equally deserving of love and compassion.

John Paul II asked: "Where did Mother Teresa find the strength and perseverance to place herself completely at the service of others? She found it in prayer and in the silent contemplation of Jesus Christ, his Holy Face, his Sacred Heart." Few of us will follow closely in Mother Teresa's footsteps either as a servant of the destitute, or as a devoted child of God. But we can learn from her example that a daily practice of prayer or meditation can help bring us closer to the loving Spirit of the Universe, to an awareness that we are one with that Spirit, and to the knowledge that every soul we encounter is likewise a beloved part of God and therefore a part of us as fully deserving of love as we are ourselves.

Just as we are not perfect in our outer manifestations, we may have difficulty seeing the perfection in others through their disguises formed of ego, pain, and fear. But just as prayer and meditation can show us to the perfect God within ourselves, they can also teach us to find and worship the stainless manifestation of Spirit within every other person.

Prayer and meditation, in other words, are the path to love, acceptance, and joy. The more we indulge in those delicious practices, the greater is the joy that is accessible to us. But any amount of daily practice, be it five minutes or an hour, can help us set foot on the Path that leads to peace and fulfillment.

And so it is.

Namaste