Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Limitations or Possibilities?

I’ve been thinking lately about something Ernest Holmes said. One of the most influential figures in metaphysical science and founder of Religious Science (not to be confused with Scientology), Ernest Holmes was a profound proponent of Universal Intelligence and said something that has stuck with me lately. He said,
“You cannot spend five minutes in the morning affirming that all is well and spend the rest of the day proving that it is not.“

Our minds have such a unique way of wanting to prove our beliefs right no matter what – even though it might not make us happy. A Course in Miracles puts it so succinctly when it asks,
“Would you rather be right or happy?”

Many might think, “can’t I be both?” Not if it brings situations into your life that make you unhappy. We must stop arguing for our limitations in order to attract the happiness and fulfillment that we so desperately crave.

Our beliefs – and remember they are just thoughts that we keep thinking – will be proven in our physical world by the circumstances that they attract, wanted or unwanted. My mother used to say to me, “You’re so lucky; jobs just fall into your lap.” Not only did that piss me off - I felt like I worked hard for everything that came my way and somehow she was negating my effort - but it also set into motion circumstances that began to prove my limited thoughts. In truth I did have an uncanny way of attracting opportunity, but I was so addicted to struggle that I could not accept the ease with which I could create. I thought it had to be harder than that. I began to argue for my limitations. I began to make life harder than it had to be. I was proving my position right because jobs that came easily before stopped cold, and I was anything but happy.

Again, the world in which we live supports hard work, struggle, pain and fear and we just buy into those beliefs as truth. Our addiction to pain and struggle makes us believe that it is necessary to suffer and work hard in order to succeed, “no pain, no gain,” and the belief in "The Great American Dream" and sweat equity. But the paradigm is shifting. Even the lexicon is changing. Think about how prevalent words like universe, spirituality, affirmations, karma, etc. are in our society today. This was not true even a decade ago.

Let’s stop arguing for our limitations. Let’s adopt the new beliefs that are conspiring to change the world. Begin today to pay attention to your thoughts, and to certain words that you use with regularity that might be attracting things that you do not want. Set your course in the morning by setting aside some time, before your busy day begins, to settle your mind – pray, meditate, chant – do whatever you do to put appreciation, happiness and love at the top of your list for the day. But then, as Ernest Holmes reminds us, don’t let it stop there. Don’t let your thoughts run amok in directions that don’t serve you. Ask to become more aware of those thoughts. They will begin to jump out at you like crazy by virtue of your attention to them. Remember, it’s not hard. It is a matter of awareness. We are waking up to the notion that the facts that we so strongly believe in, might not be facts at all.

This week take a few minutes in the morning to set the course for your day; then, throughout the day, focus on happier things, brighter moments, appreciation and all the beauty that surrounds you. Your limiting thoughts will come up, but as you notice them they will not hold the power that they used to. With practice it will become easier. It will become more natural. I can’t think of a better way to learn than by marinating ourselves in positive, life affirming happy thoughts and circumstances - they abound.

I leave you this week with another video, a good news story of a woman who never let a limiting thought stop her determination; she argued for possibilities and possibilities came. Oh yes, and I will leave you with a wonderful quote (I cannot resist) from Louise Hay who says,
“What you think and what you believe is what will come true for you. Your thoughts create your life; it’s that simple, and when we get that, we can make enormous changes.”


1 comment:

  1. I have a friend, my one friend who I call my one friend because they are my one friend, who always says "I love it when things go right". It seems we always notice when things go not to our advantage, which we consider wrong. But when things go to our advantage, we take them for granted. Like: no traffic jam today and I got where I was going on time and you don't exclaim "wow, no traffic". But if there is traffic you bemoan it. It's appreciation. Which you Zan of the Chicken Soup (your Indian name) seem to have a lot of. Is the tequila shot glass half empty or half full? That's a trick question. It's never half anything. It's either full or empty. But it does stay empty longer than full. Ever notice that?

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