Why are we here? Wouldn’t it be great to finally have an answer to that ages-old conundrum? What is the purpose of human life on this planet and, on a more personal level, what is our unique, individual purpose?
In order to discover the purpose of humanity in this Time-Space reality, let’s first examine a bit of the purpose of the Universe itself.
This Universe of ours is infinitely rich, diverse, and multifarious; and this is in no way any random accident. It is this way – full of contrast, of variety and opposing ideas – for a very important reason.
It is this way so that we – the conscious extensions of that fundamental Life Force, the creative source of All That Is – can actively participate in it’s never-ending creative expansion. The Universe is ever expanding, ever-evolving into more and more of what it already is: an infinite field of abundance. We are the directors of that expansion.
Everything that has ever been has led to this point Now; and everyone who ever was has led to this point of consciousness You. From here on, everything that is ever to become and everyone who is ever to be springs out of You in this moment Now. The Universe’s expansion and yours are intertwined; your personal evolution, the evolution of humanity, and that of the Universe are interdependent.
And how exactly does this happen? How, then, does this interdependent relationship work? So glad you asked.
The Universe is built on contrast and variety so that each of us can develop preferences, which in turn become desires. We need to experience, or at least be aware of, an idea and its opposite, a possibility and its antithesis, in order to decide for ourselves which one we like and which one we don’t.
Then, if we’re living our purpose, we focus on the ideas, the possibilities we like and in doing so summon those ideas and possibilities into the reality of life in this Time-Space Universe.
By summoning those conditions and experiences we desire (and, by unfortunate contrast, unwittingly summoning those we don’t) we are helping the Universe to expand (like breathing air into a balloon). And what’s more, we are ever contributing to the “shape” of that expansion.
The Universe is evolving, and we are the mind that directs the course of its evolution. But evolution is not necessarily towards some utopian ideal of perfection, some paradise on Earth: not by definition. Evolving towards a constant state of peaceful and joyous enlightenment is not a foregone conclusion.
We must choose that kind of fulfillment, with every breath, in order to make it so. And even then, there is no end, for the very nature of evolution is that it is always happening and never-ending. The Universe will never stop expanding, whether it’s being filled with beautiful things or not.
Likewise, there is no end, no destination for any of us. We too are always evolving, always expanding.
And as the desires we summon make themselves a part of our present awareness of reality, our vantage point on our lives and reality changes, our quality of discernment develops, thus changing our perceptions of what we want and imbuing us with new wants, thus infusing new desires “out” into the Universe, thus effecting the Universe’s continued expansion and, in turn, our continued fulfillment.
And so on, and so on.
Showing posts with label what is the secret. Show all posts
Showing posts with label what is the secret. Show all posts
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
How To Always Know What To Do
Wouldn’t it be great to quell once and for all that constant nagging inside making you question every decision you make? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to rid yourself of the doubt, worry, and insecurity that so often paralyze you from making any decisions at all? Am I doing the right thing? What if I’m not? How will I know?
Well lucky for us, all human beings without exception are innately inbued with a certain indicator – a bellwether or sorts – of what is right for us and what is not, and it is our emotions.
Our core emotions – whether something feels good to us or bad to us – is the only guide we need as to what choices to make and what paths to take. Sound too easy? Sound dangerous, maybe? Not when you realize that all too often these core emotions are often clouded over with far less accurate and supportive cues, like thoughts.
When our thoughts – both our judgments and interpretations of the possible futures we’re weighing and our judgments and interpretations of our feelings about them – get in the way, it puts us out of touch with the core emotions that are constantly (even in that very moment) pointing This Way or No, Not That.
The trick then is to be able to get out of your head just long enough to feel what your body has to say about the questions you’re asking.
It is no huge logical leap to believe that when you are connected to the Source of All-That-Is, in alignment with the non-physical source energy underlying everything, then you will be led effortlessly down the path to fulfilling your purpose here and living a joyous and fulfilling life.
It is the very basis of faith, in fact – the total trust and acceptance of that which created and flows through us and all the Universe (call it God, if you like), to guide us towards our greatest fulfillment and our highest good.
Your core emotions, then, are your primary signals as to how connected to Source Energy you actually are, to whether or not you’re in alignment at all with the Universe, with All-That-Is, with “God’s Plan” for you.
If you feel bad – not in your head, not in your thoughts, now, but at your core – then you can trust unequivocally that you are out of alignment with the fundamental force underlying everything, that which is there to always lovingly guide you and will never ever fail you.
If you feel good, however – again, not in your judgments and interpretations, but at your core – then you can believe once and for all with absolute certainty, with faith, that you have a clear and open connection with the only guide to joy and fulfillment that you ever need.
Well lucky for us, all human beings without exception are innately inbued with a certain indicator – a bellwether or sorts – of what is right for us and what is not, and it is our emotions.
Our core emotions – whether something feels good to us or bad to us – is the only guide we need as to what choices to make and what paths to take. Sound too easy? Sound dangerous, maybe? Not when you realize that all too often these core emotions are often clouded over with far less accurate and supportive cues, like thoughts.
When our thoughts – both our judgments and interpretations of the possible futures we’re weighing and our judgments and interpretations of our feelings about them – get in the way, it puts us out of touch with the core emotions that are constantly (even in that very moment) pointing This Way or No, Not That.
The trick then is to be able to get out of your head just long enough to feel what your body has to say about the questions you’re asking.
It is no huge logical leap to believe that when you are connected to the Source of All-That-Is, in alignment with the non-physical source energy underlying everything, then you will be led effortlessly down the path to fulfilling your purpose here and living a joyous and fulfilling life.
It is the very basis of faith, in fact – the total trust and acceptance of that which created and flows through us and all the Universe (call it God, if you like), to guide us towards our greatest fulfillment and our highest good.
Your core emotions, then, are your primary signals as to how connected to Source Energy you actually are, to whether or not you’re in alignment at all with the Universe, with All-That-Is, with “God’s Plan” for you.
If you feel bad – not in your head, not in your thoughts, now, but at your core – then you can trust unequivocally that you are out of alignment with the fundamental force underlying everything, that which is there to always lovingly guide you and will never ever fail you.
If you feel good, however – again, not in your judgments and interpretations, but at your core – then you can believe once and for all with absolute certainty, with faith, that you have a clear and open connection with the only guide to joy and fulfillment that you ever need.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
“If Wishes Were Fishes…” or The Nature of Desire
“If wishes were fishes, we’d all cast nets in the sea.” Eric Bogle, Scottish Folk Singer
It is the Universe’s nature to grant all our wishes. More, it is its greatest joy to give us all that we desire. As a matter of fact, the Universe is already giving you everything you want – or at least what it believes you want. For wishes are fishes and we are always casting nets into the sea. Truly, you’re never NOT doing it.
So manifesting all your heart’s desires becomes but a matter of clearly communicating them to the Source of their fulfillment, and fortunately it’s incredibly easy.
When you imagine something you desire – something you want to have or an outcome to a situation, for example – the essence of that desire is emitted to the Universe in the form of vibrations. Every desire has its own unique vibration (or vibrational field). It is this field the Universe reads.
What you must understand though, is that it’s the same when you imagine something undesirable, like a worry or a fear.
And when the Universe receives these vibrations, good or bad, it interprets them not only as information but as a flat out request or, if you prefer, a wish. That’s right: the act of desiring something is the same as the act of asking for it. In fact, once the Universe knows what you want the process of bringing it to you has already begun.
You need waste not a moment more worrying about how to ask for what you want. There are no magic words. You need no words at all. The asking is inherent in the wanting, or rather in the focus of your attention.
That means – and this is as liberating as it is foreboding – whatever you focus on is what the Universe interprets as a desire you wish to have granted. Clear communicating your true desires to the Universe, then, is no more than a matter of focusing on the desire itself, as opposed to its lack or absence.
Have you ever had the experience of knowing exactly what you didn’t want only to find that that was exactly what you got? Or you were very clear about what you didn’t want to happen and that’s just what did? It’s a common phenomenon, and easily avoidable.
So many desires are thwarted by a simple and fundamental misunderstanding of this one key element of the Law of Attraction: that it does not function in negatives, which is to say that it can’t NOT do something. It cannot NOT attract something to you.
In other words, it doesn’t understand you when you say you don’t want to be in a dysfunctional relationship. It only understands the vibrational energy of a dysfunctional relationship.
It doesn’t know what you mean when you say you don’t want to be drowning in debt anymore. It only receives the vibrational image of you drowning in debt. It “thinks” these things that you know you don’t want are actually things you do want, because you’re focusing on them.
Fortunately, solving this problem is easy as making it: take out the negative. Focus on what you do want, not what you don’t. Instead of focusing on the dysfunctional relationship you don’t want, focus instead on the relationship you do want: loving, trusting, empowering, fulfilling.
And instead of focus on how sick and tired you are of being poor, focus on the alternative: what it would feel like to finally have your finances under control.
The more you focus on the things, situations, and feelings you desire rather than those problems, circumstances and emotions you want changed, the more your life will start taking the shape you’ve always wanted it to.
It is the Universe’s nature to grant all our wishes. More, it is its greatest joy to give us all that we desire. As a matter of fact, the Universe is already giving you everything you want – or at least what it believes you want. For wishes are fishes and we are always casting nets into the sea. Truly, you’re never NOT doing it.
So manifesting all your heart’s desires becomes but a matter of clearly communicating them to the Source of their fulfillment, and fortunately it’s incredibly easy.
When you imagine something you desire – something you want to have or an outcome to a situation, for example – the essence of that desire is emitted to the Universe in the form of vibrations. Every desire has its own unique vibration (or vibrational field). It is this field the Universe reads.
What you must understand though, is that it’s the same when you imagine something undesirable, like a worry or a fear.
And when the Universe receives these vibrations, good or bad, it interprets them not only as information but as a flat out request or, if you prefer, a wish. That’s right: the act of desiring something is the same as the act of asking for it. In fact, once the Universe knows what you want the process of bringing it to you has already begun.
You need waste not a moment more worrying about how to ask for what you want. There are no magic words. You need no words at all. The asking is inherent in the wanting, or rather in the focus of your attention.
That means – and this is as liberating as it is foreboding – whatever you focus on is what the Universe interprets as a desire you wish to have granted. Clear communicating your true desires to the Universe, then, is no more than a matter of focusing on the desire itself, as opposed to its lack or absence.
Have you ever had the experience of knowing exactly what you didn’t want only to find that that was exactly what you got? Or you were very clear about what you didn’t want to happen and that’s just what did? It’s a common phenomenon, and easily avoidable.
So many desires are thwarted by a simple and fundamental misunderstanding of this one key element of the Law of Attraction: that it does not function in negatives, which is to say that it can’t NOT do something. It cannot NOT attract something to you.
In other words, it doesn’t understand you when you say you don’t want to be in a dysfunctional relationship. It only understands the vibrational energy of a dysfunctional relationship.
It doesn’t know what you mean when you say you don’t want to be drowning in debt anymore. It only receives the vibrational image of you drowning in debt. It “thinks” these things that you know you don’t want are actually things you do want, because you’re focusing on them.
Fortunately, solving this problem is easy as making it: take out the negative. Focus on what you do want, not what you don’t. Instead of focusing on the dysfunctional relationship you don’t want, focus instead on the relationship you do want: loving, trusting, empowering, fulfilling.
And instead of focus on how sick and tired you are of being poor, focus on the alternative: what it would feel like to finally have your finances under control.
The more you focus on the things, situations, and feelings you desire rather than those problems, circumstances and emotions you want changed, the more your life will start taking the shape you’ve always wanted it to.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
How to Save the World
Yes, the way to save the world is to save yourself. The way to bring joy and peace into the world is to bring joy and peace into your heart. The way to alleviate pain and suffering in the world is to alleviate it in your heart.
There’s no mystery there, and if that was the end-all and be-all of this article, you might stop reading here, figuring we weren’t really going to get around to what you hoped we were, what the title of this article led you to believe we were: how to improve the situations going on in the larger world. You want to know what you can do about war, crime, poverty, and injustice, right? So let’s get into it.
For starters, let’s spend a moment discussing what not to do, what you may be shocked to realize that you’ve already been doing all along. First, stop fighting. The War on Drugs, the War on Terrorism, the War on Poverty, the War on AIDS: all this War consciousness only attracts more war consciousness – more thirst for war, more justification for it, more things to fight against.
By perceiving the situation as one that must be fought against, you place yourself (and therefore the world) in a state of constant resistance. Your “fighting the good fight” only succeeds in creating more fight - more fighting and more things to fight against.
Secondly, stop dwelling on what’s wrong in the world. Global warming, racial intolerance, world hunger – all these things are part of our shared present reality. And being aware of them is different from being fixated on them. Being informed is okay; being inundated is not.
So are we advocating ignorance and inaction? Of course not! On the contrary, we’re advocating putting your attention where it can promote actual change for the better rather than perpetuating and reinforcing a prevailing problem.
The best way to illustrate this shift is with a statement made by the beloved Mother Theresa who said she would never attend an anti-war rally, but would be happy to attend any peace rallies she was invited to.
Make your immediate world, starting from the inside, one of peace, tolerance, justice, abundance, etc. As your immediate reality starts shifting to accommodate your internal shift, it will start a chain-reaction, attracting more of that energy around you and, in so doing, expand that energy outward into more and more of the larger world.
If you take action in the name of any of these larger, humanitarian, environmental or other causes, take positive, proactive action to nurture, foster, and create more of the world you want to live. In a world like this, there’s no room for fighting, and the more you focus your consciousness on better things, the more the fighting inside and out will simply fall away.
There’s no mystery there, and if that was the end-all and be-all of this article, you might stop reading here, figuring we weren’t really going to get around to what you hoped we were, what the title of this article led you to believe we were: how to improve the situations going on in the larger world. You want to know what you can do about war, crime, poverty, and injustice, right? So let’s get into it.
For starters, let’s spend a moment discussing what not to do, what you may be shocked to realize that you’ve already been doing all along. First, stop fighting. The War on Drugs, the War on Terrorism, the War on Poverty, the War on AIDS: all this War consciousness only attracts more war consciousness – more thirst for war, more justification for it, more things to fight against.
By perceiving the situation as one that must be fought against, you place yourself (and therefore the world) in a state of constant resistance. Your “fighting the good fight” only succeeds in creating more fight - more fighting and more things to fight against.
Secondly, stop dwelling on what’s wrong in the world. Global warming, racial intolerance, world hunger – all these things are part of our shared present reality. And being aware of them is different from being fixated on them. Being informed is okay; being inundated is not.
So are we advocating ignorance and inaction? Of course not! On the contrary, we’re advocating putting your attention where it can promote actual change for the better rather than perpetuating and reinforcing a prevailing problem.
The best way to illustrate this shift is with a statement made by the beloved Mother Theresa who said she would never attend an anti-war rally, but would be happy to attend any peace rallies she was invited to.
Make your immediate world, starting from the inside, one of peace, tolerance, justice, abundance, etc. As your immediate reality starts shifting to accommodate your internal shift, it will start a chain-reaction, attracting more of that energy around you and, in so doing, expand that energy outward into more and more of the larger world.
If you take action in the name of any of these larger, humanitarian, environmental or other causes, take positive, proactive action to nurture, foster, and create more of the world you want to live. In a world like this, there’s no room for fighting, and the more you focus your consciousness on better things, the more the fighting inside and out will simply fall away.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
The Perfect Relationship
In this article we apply the lessons of the Law of Attraction to partnership relationships or romantic relationships, though the insights discussed apply to all relationships of all kinds – friends, parent/child, etc.
The people we attract to ourselves in life match up vibrationally with some energy we’re projecting. Attracting the right kinds of matches into your life then requires first and foremost accepting responsibility for the people you do attract.
And taking responsibility for the kinds of people who show up in your life entails taking responsibility for how you “show up” in your life, inside and out. Change you vibrations, change what (and who) they attract.
Love in an energy – one we foster from within. When we access that energy of love from within, we project its vibrations outside of us; in our actions and in our being, we come from a place of love. This invariably attracts that same energy of love into our lives, for example in the form of other people to love who also loving us.
One of the problems people have in getting the love they want is that so much of what people call ‘love’ isn’t love at all. Often it’s attachment: to the other person, to the relationship looking the way you think it should look, or even an attachment to “drama”. Other times it’s fear: fear of loss, fear of not being worthy of love, or one we hear a lot, fear of being happy, which really just amounts to more fear of not being worthy of love and fear of loss.
Some sages say that people ‘crush’ love like a bird in the hand when you hold onto it too hard, and while the image may be apt we prefer to say that when you cling to love you detach from it. If that sounds like a paradox, you’re catching on.
Clinging to love out of attachment and fear disengages you from the love itself and grips you to your attachment and fear. As does clinging to your ideas of what love should look like when and if it ever does “come”.
Love is an energy. It cannot be gripped any more than you can grip light; you can only be bathed in it, or shut yourself away in the dark. But the light is there nonetheless, and right outside the door. Love flows, and to have the relationship of your fondest desires, let the love flow through you and from within you.
Rather than focusing on fixing the problems in your relationship (or your utter lack of one), engage in the flow of love and watch the problems (or lack) dissolve. Change the circumstances, situations, and conditions you find yourself in by allowing yourself to feel here and now the love you aim to feel for the new circumstances, situations, and conditions.
The perfect relationship with another person comes from nurturing a perfect relationship with yourself; in other words: loving yourself fully and unconditionally as you are, and appreciating yourself fully for all the love you have inside to give.
The people we attract to ourselves in life match up vibrationally with some energy we’re projecting. Attracting the right kinds of matches into your life then requires first and foremost accepting responsibility for the people you do attract.
And taking responsibility for the kinds of people who show up in your life entails taking responsibility for how you “show up” in your life, inside and out. Change you vibrations, change what (and who) they attract.
Love in an energy – one we foster from within. When we access that energy of love from within, we project its vibrations outside of us; in our actions and in our being, we come from a place of love. This invariably attracts that same energy of love into our lives, for example in the form of other people to love who also loving us.
One of the problems people have in getting the love they want is that so much of what people call ‘love’ isn’t love at all. Often it’s attachment: to the other person, to the relationship looking the way you think it should look, or even an attachment to “drama”. Other times it’s fear: fear of loss, fear of not being worthy of love, or one we hear a lot, fear of being happy, which really just amounts to more fear of not being worthy of love and fear of loss.
Some sages say that people ‘crush’ love like a bird in the hand when you hold onto it too hard, and while the image may be apt we prefer to say that when you cling to love you detach from it. If that sounds like a paradox, you’re catching on.
Clinging to love out of attachment and fear disengages you from the love itself and grips you to your attachment and fear. As does clinging to your ideas of what love should look like when and if it ever does “come”.
Love is an energy. It cannot be gripped any more than you can grip light; you can only be bathed in it, or shut yourself away in the dark. But the light is there nonetheless, and right outside the door. Love flows, and to have the relationship of your fondest desires, let the love flow through you and from within you.
Rather than focusing on fixing the problems in your relationship (or your utter lack of one), engage in the flow of love and watch the problems (or lack) dissolve. Change the circumstances, situations, and conditions you find yourself in by allowing yourself to feel here and now the love you aim to feel for the new circumstances, situations, and conditions.
The perfect relationship with another person comes from nurturing a perfect relationship with yourself; in other words: loving yourself fully and unconditionally as you are, and appreciating yourself fully for all the love you have inside to give.
Monday, March 17, 2008
The Value of Appreciation
Just like with people, when you want the Universe to treat you well, a little appreciation goes a long, long way.
Appreciation brings out the best in others, and it brings out the best from the creative energy underlying everything, the source of All That Is. When you appreciate something you feed it energy and thus foster more of it in the world. So when you admire something beautiful, you create more beauty in the world. Beautiful, isn’t it?
When someone appreciates you how does it feel? Wonderful, doesn’t it? And feeling good is a signal that we are in alignment with our source, fully-engaged in the blissful flow of creation. Appreciation is therefore a way to put yourself and guide others into better alignment with the source, more fully engaged in the blissful flow of creation.
To put it another way, appreciation is one of the best and highest ways to achieve enlightenment.
When you appreciate another person you encourage them to develop more of those qualities about them which you appreciate. Think of a smile.
(Are you smiling already?) How many times have you discovered that when you smile at someone, for whatever reason, they smile back at you. Is it contagious? Of course it is! Like everything else according to the Law of Attraction, it attracts more of itself.
Appreciation attracts appreciation. And the more that you appreciate the things around you, the more things you’ll find around you to appreciate. One form of appreciation is gratitude. And just like with all other forms of appreciation, the more gratitude you feel for your life and all that’s in it, the more your life is filled with reasons to be grateful.
What you put your attention on grows, and putting your attention on things you appreciate makes them grow. People who talk to their plants know what we mean. In parenting it’s positive reinforcement instead of negative reinforcement or, worse, punishment.
Appreciation can lift you out of a bad mood and into a good one. Appreciation helps turn a good mood into a great one.
And appreciation helps a great mood last. Appreciation can help improve any relationship. Appreciation can prevent, divert, thwart, counter, and dissolve otherwise negative situations. Appreciation heals, on every level, including the physical.
We human beings thrive on Life Force, and appreciation is a bottomless wellspring of it.
Appreciation brings out the best in others, and it brings out the best from the creative energy underlying everything, the source of All That Is. When you appreciate something you feed it energy and thus foster more of it in the world. So when you admire something beautiful, you create more beauty in the world. Beautiful, isn’t it?
When someone appreciates you how does it feel? Wonderful, doesn’t it? And feeling good is a signal that we are in alignment with our source, fully-engaged in the blissful flow of creation. Appreciation is therefore a way to put yourself and guide others into better alignment with the source, more fully engaged in the blissful flow of creation.
To put it another way, appreciation is one of the best and highest ways to achieve enlightenment.
When you appreciate another person you encourage them to develop more of those qualities about them which you appreciate. Think of a smile.
(Are you smiling already?) How many times have you discovered that when you smile at someone, for whatever reason, they smile back at you. Is it contagious? Of course it is! Like everything else according to the Law of Attraction, it attracts more of itself.
Appreciation attracts appreciation. And the more that you appreciate the things around you, the more things you’ll find around you to appreciate. One form of appreciation is gratitude. And just like with all other forms of appreciation, the more gratitude you feel for your life and all that’s in it, the more your life is filled with reasons to be grateful.
What you put your attention on grows, and putting your attention on things you appreciate makes them grow. People who talk to their plants know what we mean. In parenting it’s positive reinforcement instead of negative reinforcement or, worse, punishment.
Appreciation can lift you out of a bad mood and into a good one. Appreciation helps turn a good mood into a great one.
And appreciation helps a great mood last. Appreciation can help improve any relationship. Appreciation can prevent, divert, thwart, counter, and dissolve otherwise negative situations. Appreciation heals, on every level, including the physical.
We human beings thrive on Life Force, and appreciation is a bottomless wellspring of it.
Tips for Focusing Your Desire
To get what we want, we have to know what we want. To know what we want, we have to think about it, feel about it, make determinations about it (okay, this is what I want), and then, once we know what we want, we have to focus on it. Focusing, then, takes on a twofold meaning: focusing in terms of honing in on your desires (determining what they are) and focusing in terms of concentrating joyously on what you’ve determined your desires to be`.
This is how we ask the Universe to manifest our desires, and this is how we align ourselves with receiving them. Below you’ll find 5 tips, processes, exercises, games (call them what you will), for focusing your desire and thereby drawing what you want into your life.
Note: all the processes below are taught by Abraham-Hicks in their manual for blissful living, “Ask And It Is Given”.
1. The Magical Creation Box – Find a box, the more appealing to you the better, and start putting into it magazine and newspaper clippings and other images you find (or make) about what you want. Continue adding to the box as time goes on, knowing that anything you place into it is already yours.
2. The Creative Workshop – Take four pieces of paper and label one ‘My Body’, one ‘My Home’, one ‘My Relationship’, and one ‘My Work’. Then start adding to each list those things you want in each of those areas. Focusing on these four key areas of life will help you more clearly identify those desires that matter to you most.
3. Virtual Reality – You may say this next one is no different from ‘fantasizing’ and to that we say, “So it is”. A visualization exercise, in Virtual Reality you allow your mind to focus on a particular scene you desire experiencing, and imagining yourself in it.
Paint a scene with your mind that makes you feel good. Is it indoors or outdoors? Day or night? What are you doing it? What’s happening around you? If there’s any difference between this process and your fantasies is that these Virtual Reality visualizations is intentional, directed by your conscious desire and - most notably distinct from fantasies – honored and appreciated for the future reality they represent.
4. The Prosperity – Everyone wants money: cold hard cash; and there’s nothing wrong with it. So why wait? Start thinking wealthy now; align yourself with how you’ll feel when the wealth you already possess actualizes itself in your bank account. Creative an imaginary checking account. Use an actual checkbook register or a personal finance program on your computer if you wish, but somewhere, somehow, keep a record for this account. On the first day you play this game, deposit $1,000 into your account.
Then start spending it: writing checks (or entries in your record tracking your imaginary expenses) for everything you want to buy or spend money on. And spend it all – in one sitting (or one day). Don’t leave money around to build-up in your account; this is a checking account, not a savings .
The next time you do this, deposit $2,000 and again, spending it all. Each time you play this game increase your initial deposit by $1,000. See how it feels to spend $20,000 knowing you’ll get equal that plus more as soon as that runs out. How does it feel when you get to spending $100,000 at the time. What do you have? How does it feel?
5. The Book of Positive Aspects – Gratitude and appreciation is our way of attracting more of those things into our lives. So start a notebook where, one at a time, you dedicate an entire page to one person, animal, place, situation, or thing that is already in your life: a restaurant, a car, your spouse, your job, etc. Write down in as much detail as you can what you like/love/appreciate/are grateful for about each person, animal, place, situation, or thing.
In doing so, you not only create more positive experiences with that restaurant, car, spouse, job, etc., but you attract more of those qualities you listed appreciating into all areas of your life. Once you’ve done this a few times, try listing the positive aspects of something you’re not so thrilled with in your life. By focusing on the positive aspects of a negative thing or situation, you transform it, perpetuating and reinforcing the positive elements while the negative elements slip away.
This is how we ask the Universe to manifest our desires, and this is how we align ourselves with receiving them. Below you’ll find 5 tips, processes, exercises, games (call them what you will), for focusing your desire and thereby drawing what you want into your life.
Note: all the processes below are taught by Abraham-Hicks in their manual for blissful living, “Ask And It Is Given”.
1. The Magical Creation Box – Find a box, the more appealing to you the better, and start putting into it magazine and newspaper clippings and other images you find (or make) about what you want. Continue adding to the box as time goes on, knowing that anything you place into it is already yours.
2. The Creative Workshop – Take four pieces of paper and label one ‘My Body’, one ‘My Home’, one ‘My Relationship’, and one ‘My Work’. Then start adding to each list those things you want in each of those areas. Focusing on these four key areas of life will help you more clearly identify those desires that matter to you most.
3. Virtual Reality – You may say this next one is no different from ‘fantasizing’ and to that we say, “So it is”. A visualization exercise, in Virtual Reality you allow your mind to focus on a particular scene you desire experiencing, and imagining yourself in it.
Paint a scene with your mind that makes you feel good. Is it indoors or outdoors? Day or night? What are you doing it? What’s happening around you? If there’s any difference between this process and your fantasies is that these Virtual Reality visualizations is intentional, directed by your conscious desire and - most notably distinct from fantasies – honored and appreciated for the future reality they represent.
4. The Prosperity – Everyone wants money: cold hard cash; and there’s nothing wrong with it. So why wait? Start thinking wealthy now; align yourself with how you’ll feel when the wealth you already possess actualizes itself in your bank account. Creative an imaginary checking account. Use an actual checkbook register or a personal finance program on your computer if you wish, but somewhere, somehow, keep a record for this account. On the first day you play this game, deposit $1,000 into your account.
Then start spending it: writing checks (or entries in your record tracking your imaginary expenses) for everything you want to buy or spend money on. And spend it all – in one sitting (or one day). Don’t leave money around to build-up in your account; this is a checking account, not a savings .
The next time you do this, deposit $2,000 and again, spending it all. Each time you play this game increase your initial deposit by $1,000. See how it feels to spend $20,000 knowing you’ll get equal that plus more as soon as that runs out. How does it feel when you get to spending $100,000 at the time. What do you have? How does it feel?
5. The Book of Positive Aspects – Gratitude and appreciation is our way of attracting more of those things into our lives. So start a notebook where, one at a time, you dedicate an entire page to one person, animal, place, situation, or thing that is already in your life: a restaurant, a car, your spouse, your job, etc. Write down in as much detail as you can what you like/love/appreciate/are grateful for about each person, animal, place, situation, or thing.
In doing so, you not only create more positive experiences with that restaurant, car, spouse, job, etc., but you attract more of those qualities you listed appreciating into all areas of your life. Once you’ve done this a few times, try listing the positive aspects of something you’re not so thrilled with in your life. By focusing on the positive aspects of a negative thing or situation, you transform it, perpetuating and reinforcing the positive elements while the negative elements slip away.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Meditation Made Easy
Let's demystify meditation, here and now, once and for all.
The word 'meditation' is one of those words that often comes with a lot of unnecessary baggage. Many people have inferences and associations with the word 'meditation', things it conjures up in their minds when they think of it, that turns them off to it and away from it:
To meditate all you need to do is find as quiet and peaceful a place as you can to sit or lie still for 5-15 minutes and try to silence your mind. One of the most effective ways to do this is by focusing on your breath.
Notice your breathing, in and out. Feel your breath, with your body. Not with your mind. Release any thoughts that enter your mind and calmly, forgivingly return your attention to your breathing.
If you have any thoughts about your breathing or about anything else, let them slip through your mind. Don't hold on to them. Don't examine and evaluate them. And don't judge or criticize yourself for having them.
Just let them slip past like a rolling stream and focus back in again on the stream of your breath, in and out. In and out.
Alternately you could focus, instead of your breathing, on the moment. Many people like to incorporate more of their senses in the experience of meditation, and that's fine too. That's why we didn't say you necessarily had to close your eyes to do it. Instead of focusing on your breath, then, focus on the Now.
Experience the sounds, sights, and sensations of this moment without any thought, any analysis or interpretation, any judgment. That too is meditation.
The rest is practice. Practice increasing and lengthening those moments when all you are is breath, when all you are is this moment. Practice maintaining that state of mindful mindlessness every day for just a little bit, or if you can't do that then just whenever you think of it - either way you'll be amazed at the positive results you'll find in your life.
You'll feel better. You'll feel healthier. You'll feel happier. You'll have more of what you want. You'll feel empowered and inspired. Passionate and enlivened.
The word 'meditation' is one of those words that often comes with a lot of unnecessary baggage. Many people have inferences and associations with the word 'meditation', things it conjures up in their minds when they think of it, that turns them off to it and away from it:
- That it requires discipline; none but the slightest. If you brush your teeth every day, you can meditate too.
- That it involves chanting and prayer; it can if you want, but it need not.
- That I have to do it for a long time and I don't have a long time, or I do but when I sit for a long time it hurts; it "works" instantaneously, 5-15 minutes a day is all you really need, and if you don't want to sit for 5-15 minutes, lie down, and if you fall asleep, that's okay.
- That only Hippies and New Agers do it; businessmen and women, political leaders, teachers, doctors and judges, actors and musicians, athletes - the list of those who meditate is bigger than you think.
- That you have to proscribe to a particular religion in order to meditate; nonsense, though Hinduism and Buddhism and Judaism and Christianity and Islam all have their own forms and styles of meditation, Hindus and Buddhists and Jews and Christians and Muslims along with Pagans and Agnostics and secularists alike all meditate all sorts of ways.
- That it doesn't work; the only ones who can get away with saying that are those who have never tried.
To meditate all you need to do is find as quiet and peaceful a place as you can to sit or lie still for 5-15 minutes and try to silence your mind. One of the most effective ways to do this is by focusing on your breath.
Notice your breathing, in and out. Feel your breath, with your body. Not with your mind. Release any thoughts that enter your mind and calmly, forgivingly return your attention to your breathing.
If you have any thoughts about your breathing or about anything else, let them slip through your mind. Don't hold on to them. Don't examine and evaluate them. And don't judge or criticize yourself for having them.
Just let them slip past like a rolling stream and focus back in again on the stream of your breath, in and out. In and out.
Alternately you could focus, instead of your breathing, on the moment. Many people like to incorporate more of their senses in the experience of meditation, and that's fine too. That's why we didn't say you necessarily had to close your eyes to do it. Instead of focusing on your breath, then, focus on the Now.
Experience the sounds, sights, and sensations of this moment without any thought, any analysis or interpretation, any judgment. That too is meditation.
The rest is practice. Practice increasing and lengthening those moments when all you are is breath, when all you are is this moment. Practice maintaining that state of mindful mindlessness every day for just a little bit, or if you can't do that then just whenever you think of it - either way you'll be amazed at the positive results you'll find in your life.
You'll feel better. You'll feel healthier. You'll feel happier. You'll have more of what you want. You'll feel empowered and inspired. Passionate and enlivened.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Review of The Secret
SPOILER ALERT: The Secret itself is revealed in this review.
The people we think of as history’s “greats”, geniuses in science, business, academia, the arts, and public service, people like Plato, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Winston Churchill, Mother Theresa, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Andrew Carnegie, Ralph Waldo Emerson, those icons who bring us inspiration and aspiration – all achieved what they did through the deliberate practice of the same Secret knowledge.
Some of them had the same words for it, some used an entirely different vocabulary, but the awareness, the Secret they understood and applied about the way the Universe and everything in it works, was the same.
One Secret, practiced to extraordinary effect for centuries, and now available to you in the movie: The Secret.
In The Secret this singular concept, this seeming-magic formula that led to the immortalization of so many of its practitioners, is explained by articulate authorities in a diversity of disciplines – theology, medicine, philosophy, business, quantum physics, and more.
Set to inspiring music and a collage of engrossing images, the Secret to living the life you’ve always dreamed of is laid out for you in a clear, concise, and – most importantly – practical manner.
If you’ve found this review and you don’t know The Secret already, it’s time you were filled in. The Secret is the Law of Attraction: like attracts like, what you think about you manifest, thoughts create things, your thoughts create your reality.
After The Secret is thorough illustrated to where you can at least understand the concept, if not yet quite believe it, it is then explained how to apply the Secret, the Law of Attraction, to improving your life, in all areas: money, health, relationships with others, your relationship with yourself, and the larger world.
You will learn to eliminate what you don’t want from your life by concentrating on what it is you do want. You will learn to harness gratitude and other positive emotions to attract more into your life to feel good about.
And you will learn simple, repeatable processes for using the Law of Attraction with increasing effectiveness, rapidity, and ease, including the fundamental process of the Law of Attraction:
The lush imagery throughout the film is a dreamscape that opens the mind to possibility like a kaleidoscope open the eyes to wonder. One of the most compelling, convincing, and inspiring aspects of the movie, however, is in the real-life personal experiences from the very same “teachers” conveying The Secret, stories of triumph over adversity and transformation in the face of overwhelming resistance.
If ever there was a Secret to enlightenment, this is it; and this movie lays The Secret bare for anyone with eyes to see, ears to hear it, and – most vitally – an open mind.
The people we think of as history’s “greats”, geniuses in science, business, academia, the arts, and public service, people like Plato, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Winston Churchill, Mother Theresa, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Andrew Carnegie, Ralph Waldo Emerson, those icons who bring us inspiration and aspiration – all achieved what they did through the deliberate practice of the same Secret knowledge.
Some of them had the same words for it, some used an entirely different vocabulary, but the awareness, the Secret they understood and applied about the way the Universe and everything in it works, was the same.
One Secret, practiced to extraordinary effect for centuries, and now available to you in the movie: The Secret.
In The Secret this singular concept, this seeming-magic formula that led to the immortalization of so many of its practitioners, is explained by articulate authorities in a diversity of disciplines – theology, medicine, philosophy, business, quantum physics, and more.
Set to inspiring music and a collage of engrossing images, the Secret to living the life you’ve always dreamed of is laid out for you in a clear, concise, and – most importantly – practical manner.
If you’ve found this review and you don’t know The Secret already, it’s time you were filled in. The Secret is the Law of Attraction: like attracts like, what you think about you manifest, thoughts create things, your thoughts create your reality.
After The Secret is thorough illustrated to where you can at least understand the concept, if not yet quite believe it, it is then explained how to apply the Secret, the Law of Attraction, to improving your life, in all areas: money, health, relationships with others, your relationship with yourself, and the larger world.
You will learn to eliminate what you don’t want from your life by concentrating on what it is you do want. You will learn to harness gratitude and other positive emotions to attract more into your life to feel good about.
And you will learn simple, repeatable processes for using the Law of Attraction with increasing effectiveness, rapidity, and ease, including the fundamental process of the Law of Attraction:
- Ask for what you want;
- Believe that you have it already;
- Receive it into your life by feeling the feelings of having it now.
The lush imagery throughout the film is a dreamscape that opens the mind to possibility like a kaleidoscope open the eyes to wonder. One of the most compelling, convincing, and inspiring aspects of the movie, however, is in the real-life personal experiences from the very same “teachers” conveying The Secret, stories of triumph over adversity and transformation in the face of overwhelming resistance.
If ever there was a Secret to enlightenment, this is it; and this movie lays The Secret bare for anyone with eyes to see, ears to hear it, and – most vitally – an open mind.
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