YOUR CREATIVE NATURE
If you don't think you're creative you probably got that message early in life ... and bought into it. To better understand your own creativity, don't think of it as a special ability some people have, but as a universal human capacity.
During the normal process of living we’re all continually creating outcomes of various kinds; every action we take causes something to happen. And underlying this process lies thought.
Thought is the creative engine of human life; what we think is what we get.
This may be understood in three ways. First, right or wrong, every thought we believe shapes our experience of reality; we tend to see things not as they really are, but rather, as we think them to be. Second, our thoughts shape actions that tend to bring what we expect; i.e., Self-fulfilling Prophecy. For example, if we think someone doesn’t like us, we may act negatively toward them and cause them to not like us.
Our thoughts have great reality-creating power, so we’re wise to examine our thoughts and carefully select which thoughts we choose to believe.
Third, we can focus attention at higher, self-transcendent levels of mind and access new insightful and inspiring thoughts. And as we do, our positive energy increases and our actions become more remarkably creative, shaping astonishing new innovative realities that may delight, and serve others.
So don’t doubt your creative power. Instead, recognize it. And take more conscious responsibility for it by being more aware of and careful to choose what you think and believe. And learn to focus your attention at higher levels of mind.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO A FRIEND.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
2 POWERFUL SYSTEMS FOR IMPROVING LIFE
Many of us know that having a positive attitude works better for us than having a negative one -- it helps us to have a happier, healthier and more successful life. Yet, when things happen that we don’t like (or if we just expect them to happen), we may not be able to muster the positive energy and better state of mind needed to act most effectively and constructively. Instead, we may just react negatively and ineffectively, and not get our best results.
And here lies the crux of much of human failure -- the inability to generate the high positive energy and state of mind needed to shape our best results.
If we observe ourselves carefully, we may find that we’re often reacting negatively and inappropriately many times a day. Whether these reactions appear justifiable or not, they taint our experiences and keep us from getting our best results. So justifying them is not helpful. What is, is eliminating them, and raising our positive energy and state of mind. Then we’ll more reliably act in ways that can get us our best results.
Unless we do this, creating the good life we want will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, no matter how sincere and well-intentioned we are. The ability to generate high positive energy and a better state of mind is essential. Any inability to do this will keep us from achieving the good life that we want.
Higher consciousness training and psychotherapy seek to remedy such inability, each in its own way. Psychotherapy uncovers and reduces maladaptive mindsets that cause negative and inappropriate behavior. Higher consciousness training increases positive energy and brings one’s mind to higher levels of functioning. Each improve our ability to respond better and get better results.
These are two powerful systems for improving life. By improving our mind’s functioning they help us to more surely create our best life.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO A FRIEND.
Many of us know that having a positive attitude works better for us than having a negative one -- it helps us to have a happier, healthier and more successful life. Yet, when things happen that we don’t like (or if we just expect them to happen), we may not be able to muster the positive energy and better state of mind needed to act most effectively and constructively. Instead, we may just react negatively and ineffectively, and not get our best results.
And here lies the crux of much of human failure -- the inability to generate the high positive energy and state of mind needed to shape our best results.
If we observe ourselves carefully, we may find that we’re often reacting negatively and inappropriately many times a day. Whether these reactions appear justifiable or not, they taint our experiences and keep us from getting our best results. So justifying them is not helpful. What is, is eliminating them, and raising our positive energy and state of mind. Then we’ll more reliably act in ways that can get us our best results.
Unless we do this, creating the good life we want will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, no matter how sincere and well-intentioned we are. The ability to generate high positive energy and a better state of mind is essential. Any inability to do this will keep us from achieving the good life that we want.
Higher consciousness training and psychotherapy seek to remedy such inability, each in its own way. Psychotherapy uncovers and reduces maladaptive mindsets that cause negative and inappropriate behavior. Higher consciousness training increases positive energy and brings one’s mind to higher levels of functioning. Each improve our ability to respond better and get better results.
These are two powerful systems for improving life. By improving our mind’s functioning they help us to more surely create our best life.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO A FRIEND.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
MAKING EMOTIONAL TURNAROUNDS
Many years ago, in my first issue of THOUGHTS TO LIVE BY, I accidentally sent out an unedited draft. When I read what I had sent I was painfully embarrassed. Due to a mistyped word, an important idea had been changed into a dubious one. I thought, "I look like a fool. How could I do such a dumb thing?"
My agonizing self-recrimination went on for an hour or so until I couldn’t take it anymore and a higher part of me rose up and said, "This is an opportunity to practice a Life Mastery Training technique and make an EMOTIONAL TURNAROUND."
So I took a few deep breaths, accepted my human fallibility, forgave myself, looked for the humor in the situation, and had a good laugh at myself. Then I looked to see what I could learn from what had happened.
Soon I realized that to avoid making such a mistake again, I needed to improve my procedures for checking before sending out e-mail material. I also realized that I could write about this experience in my next issue as an example of how emotional turnarounds can be readily made.
With these two realizations, I not only felt much better, I felt inspired -- great positive energy rose up in me and I began to move ahead.
So when you feel bad about something you did, try this procedure. It may be difficult or seem impossible at first, but as we learn to accept our human fallibility, forgive and laugh at ourselves and then look for the good that can come, we increase our ability to make quick emotional turnarounds.
Practice this process when you mess up. You’ll suffer less and take another great step toward life mastery.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO A FRIEND.
Many years ago, in my first issue of THOUGHTS TO LIVE BY, I accidentally sent out an unedited draft. When I read what I had sent I was painfully embarrassed. Due to a mistyped word, an important idea had been changed into a dubious one. I thought, "I look like a fool. How could I do such a dumb thing?"
My agonizing self-recrimination went on for an hour or so until I couldn’t take it anymore and a higher part of me rose up and said, "This is an opportunity to practice a Life Mastery Training technique and make an EMOTIONAL TURNAROUND."
So I took a few deep breaths, accepted my human fallibility, forgave myself, looked for the humor in the situation, and had a good laugh at myself. Then I looked to see what I could learn from what had happened.
Soon I realized that to avoid making such a mistake again, I needed to improve my procedures for checking before sending out e-mail material. I also realized that I could write about this experience in my next issue as an example of how emotional turnarounds can be readily made.
With these two realizations, I not only felt much better, I felt inspired -- great positive energy rose up in me and I began to move ahead.
So when you feel bad about something you did, try this procedure. It may be difficult or seem impossible at first, but as we learn to accept our human fallibility, forgive and laugh at ourselves and then look for the good that can come, we increase our ability to make quick emotional turnarounds.
Practice this process when you mess up. You’ll suffer less and take another great step toward life mastery.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO A FRIEND.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
PATH TO YOUR GREATEST SELF
At birth we’re ruled by instinct. As we develop thinking, we become ruled by ego, personality and reason. These are the first four steps of ordinary human consciousness development. To take the next steps, detachment is needed. Detachment is the bridge. It takes us from being an ordinary functioning self to being a higher functioning self. Here are the nine steps in this process:
1. INSTINCT
Biology and survival rule.
2. EGO
Self-centeredness and self-importance rule.
3. PERSONALITY
Personal and social biases rule.
4. REASON
Rationality and understanding rule.
5. DETACHMENT
Impartiality and search for truth rule.
6. MASTER WILL
Executive command and integrity rule.
7. INTUITION
Higher perception and insight rule.
8. INSPIRATION
Energizing revelation and higher purpose rule.
9. LOVE
Divine spirit and sublime energy rule.
As you may have noticed, the more we advance along this progression, the fuller functioning and higher guided we become. The first four steps lay the groundwork for ordinary consciousness and functioning. The next five extend consciousness and functioning to a Master Mind level, whereby we raise thought and action to higher levels, i.e., life mastery.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO A FRIEND.
At birth we’re ruled by instinct. As we develop thinking, we become ruled by ego, personality and reason. These are the first four steps of ordinary human consciousness development. To take the next steps, detachment is needed. Detachment is the bridge. It takes us from being an ordinary functioning self to being a higher functioning self. Here are the nine steps in this process:
1. INSTINCT
Biology and survival rule.
2. EGO
Self-centeredness and self-importance rule.
3. PERSONALITY
Personal and social biases rule.
4. REASON
Rationality and understanding rule.
5. DETACHMENT
Impartiality and search for truth rule.
6. MASTER WILL
Executive command and integrity rule.
7. INTUITION
Higher perception and insight rule.
8. INSPIRATION
Energizing revelation and higher purpose rule.
9. LOVE
Divine spirit and sublime energy rule.
As you may have noticed, the more we advance along this progression, the fuller functioning and higher guided we become. The first four steps lay the groundwork for ordinary consciousness and functioning. The next five extend consciousness and functioning to a Master Mind level, whereby we raise thought and action to higher levels, i.e., life mastery.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO A FRIEND.
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