Secrets for Turning Resolutions into Realities, part 2
January 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Your incentive for making a New Year’s resolution should essentially be the same incentive that will see you through to a successful resolution, or the realization of your goal. This should be your desire — the thing that you most want to change in the coming year. Your New Year’s resolution is, in a very real sense, a prayer for your New Year.
All prayers begin with desire — the desire to have, do, or be something, to change something for others, or to simply give thanks and experience a deeper inner connection with your true self and the Creative Source from which you emerged. Accomplishing whatever it was you decided to pray for is your primary incentive for praying; this is also the case with a resolution. A resolution is not a “preference;” it’s a RESOLUTION. You don’t have to beat yourself up about what you have called, “mistakes,” or, “shortcomings;” simply declare the thing you wish to be so and, whenever you feel you have fallen short, declare it again. You have the power to create your reality; but to do so, you must hold an image of what you want in your mind until it “solidifies.”
Removing clutter and distractions from your life will help you regain your energy and focus in order to direct more of both toward your desires, or goals. The more things you have to think about, the less time and attention you can give to any of them. Declare your intentions to yourself; write them down and remind yourself often, “No matter where I seem to be at the moment, ‘THIS’ is where I am in mind, spirit, and body.” And be specific as you declare what ‘THIS’ is. The secret of life is in the details; the difference between a “stick figure” and the “Mona Lisa” is the difference between a casual interest and an answered prayer. Of course, it is much quicker to draw a stick-man than paint a masterpiece; but are you more worried about TIME, or the nature and quality of you EXPERIENCE (LIFE). Define what ‘THIS’ is for you; clarify your desire, declare it, and affirm it. What do you REALLY want?
The Belief Formula Guidebook/Workbook will be available soon; and it is designed to help you wrap your mind completely around “whatsoever you desire…” If you get in your car and start driving without really knowing where you are going, or what the place looks like, how will you get there — and how will you know if you do? Add details to your masterpiece whenever you wish; and when enough color has been added in just the right places, your desire becomes a reality.
*All of these posts are, in one way or another, about thinking. Specifically, these posts are about thinking in specific ways to promote health and healing, wellness, wholeness, happiness, peace, and contentment. Over the holiday season, many of the posts focused on weight-loss, food, etc, simply because this is a growing health issue, and one of the more common New Year’s resolutions. Though there will be more on natural/spiritual/mental/physical pathways to health, wellness, and fitness; the next posts on creating change will be on relationship resolutions and building strong, enlightened relationships that empower both participants. By the way, if you are interested in weight-loss and you are in ANY relationship, then these articles will also help you release some of the stress and reasons for making and holding extra body fat. By coming to understand yourself and how you “work,” you will better understand others and how the world around you works — making a simple thing of changing your reality.
More information soon on The Belief Formula Guidebook…
Create Your Reality; Experience Self
January 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Who creates your reality? Who defines who you are? Who decides, on a day-to-day basis, who you will “pretend” to be? A wife, a businessman, a school teacher, a homeless person? And where is this “person” who makes these decisions? And how are these things created, defined, and decided — including the various egos and labels we create for ourselves (our “pretend” selves — the part that is continuously changing)? I asked these kinds of questions — and many more — and was given a book to write. Where I had questions, I now have answers. Translating them, however, isn’t always easy; and living them is another story altogether.
Who created your life as it is? Who filled out that job application, or enlisted you in the military? Did you ask for the relationship you are in, or did you say, “Yes” to it? Who spent your paycheck, and who decided where the money would go? Who decides what’s worth getting mad and stressed about, or worrying about, and what isn’t? What part of your life do your thoughts not play a part in? Who has been making decisions and choosing preferences for you? And how do you make the decisions that create your reality? Do you think about the things you believe are real, the things you believe are possible, or the things you want to happen? If you don’t believe a thing is possible, you probably don’t invest a lot of time and energy into making it happen. But if you do believe a thing can be done, it most certainly will. Your beliefs guide you as you create your reality. Your thoughts form your beliefs. You can create your reality by learning to manage your own thought processes.
Until you begin creating your own reality, it isn’t likely that you’ve experienced your true self — the you that is the happiest of all possible you’s. You have thoughts about who you are; but are they really your thoughts? Did you tell yourself that, “You’ll never amount to anything when you grow up;” or did someone else create that reality for you by helping you define yourself? Consider to what extent others have painted their beliefs, fears, limitations, hopes, and dreams on the canvas of your life. Consider who you truly are and what you truly want in this life — not just what others told you to be, have, or do.
“As a man thinketh, so it is done unto him,” is but one of many teachings guiding us to create our own realities by thinking about them. We are told to “Ask and … receive.” And we are also told to, “Love thy neighbor,” and to, “Know thyself.” To truly know thyself is to know all men; and to, “love your self, your Creator, and your neighbor,” is the best advice a person could give or receive. The things we do affect how others view us, talk about us, treat us, and interact with us; our actions come back to us in many ways. “Do unto others…” is simply one more way of teaching the importance of thinking loving thoughts; our actions always reflect our thoughts. All of these things we do first within our mind — with our thoughts and prayers. And, having planted particular thoughts in the mind, we reap corresponding experiences in our reality.
But whose thoughts are we thinking? Who created the reality we use as a point of reference? Was it our parents, teachers, clergy, siblings, family, friends, television, or a combination of these and other elements? I don’t mean to imply that there’s something wrong with your current reality; but if you aren’t happy, you probably want to change something. When you do that, you’ll have a new reality; and if you created, or caused, the change, then you created this new reality. And if you can create one reality, you can create others. So what’s stopping you? The point is: If you like your current reality, stay happy; if you are not happy, create a reality in which you are. You do that with your thoughts; and there are lots of people who can teach you how to do that.
There are many people working in the area of self-realization, actualization, or personal and spiritual development, from a variety of perspectives. When you become aware of the desire to play a more active role in the creation of your life experience, and experience who you truly are, some of these people will “appear” on your radar screen. They say, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” Some of these teachers and researchers will lead you to others as your quest continues — with each new association providing you with another piece of the “puzzle,” or another way to say the same, very old, and very true wisdom.
CYRES Cafe (Create Your Reality Experience Self) has brought together an amazing group of teachers from many different backgrounds, traditions, disciplines, and cultures, to share the same message in many ways. That message, in my own words, is: “You are powerful beyond your wildest imaginings; and you have the power, capacity, and ability, to do all things and make all possibilities realities — according to your thoughts and beliefs.” You may not know all the rules to someone else’s game; but you are inferior to no other living thing — nor are you greater — but you are exactly as important and powerful as anyone else. And, you are the ultimate creator of your own reality. Don’t you want to know how to do that more consciously and effectively?
Stop in and have a bite of Brain Food at CYRES Cafe. Check out the list of teachers, sites, and links; there’s bound to be something on the menu that you’ll find enjoyable, enlightening (the opposite of fattening), and empowering. Knowledge is power; and you will find a ton of information and resources to help you take more control of the creative process of your life. The chefs at CYRES are always cooking up interesting and thought-provoking questions, as well; so stop in and join the discussion — and I’ll leave the food metaphors to the very wise and very kind folks at CYRES…
Change your Perception….Change your Reality
January 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Perception is reality.” Perception, however, is only part of the picture. The greater part of REALITY lies beyond your perception and defies human definitions or explanations. Some ancient cultures speak of the ultimate reality — God — as that which cannot be spoken of or about. Thus, reality remains hidden and not only unknown, but unknowable. All we can really know — in a traditional sense — is that which isn’t hidden. All we can know are these passing, temporary, transient, illusory experiences that come out of “nowhere” and pass through our awareness on their way back into “nothingness.”
Our path seems to be from “Nowhere to Now Here to Now There, which is where we started — Nowhere.” Some cultures believe this is a continuous process and, like the tide, the seasons, day and night, and every other part of nature, we rise and fall — into and out of existence in this physical world. Cultures who believe in reincarnation believe that, like a spinning wheel, this cycle can be accelerated or slowed — we can add more energy, wisdom, etc, or we can lose energy and personal power — all through our own thought-inspired actions. In each part of the cycle, we are preparing for the next part; we are sowing seeds for the coming seasons. Who knows?
The point is, whatever you believe – you believe. More important is the fact that your reality is shaped and interpreted according to your beliefs; so, if you don’t like your experience, you need only change your belief about it. Consider the example of an “irritating” co-worker who can’t seem to get along with anyone. This person probably wants to fit in and be accepted, but doesn’t know how, or can’t find the inner resources to take those important first steps and DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. If you recognize this and love those who seem to need it the most, you will be amazed at the change; and you may find true treasures where you thought there were only worthless stones.
Change the way you look at those situations, experiences, and people that seem to irritate or upset you the most; you’ll find that, as your perception changes, so does your reality. You can find friends in the exact place you found enemies yesterday — with a simple change in the way you perceive these people in your experience. At first, sudden changes in behavior can be met with suspicion; you can surely understand this, so don’t make an issue out of it. Be persistent in your efforts to see things and people in a new light — through new eyes. You don’t have to force your “charity” on others; but initial rejection of your efforts at friendship don’t mean you have to stop being kind, or friendly. Ice melts slowly in the sun; but it eventually melts.
By creating new perceptions, you can actually create new realities. Throughout the ages people have used prayer, meditation, contemplation, concentration, and other mental faculties to change perceptions and create new realities. Think-tanks are used by governments, advertisers, and researchers to break through the limitations of current perceptions and create new realities. The common theme is, “As a man thinketh, so it is done unto him;” or, “If man can imagine it, man can do it.” Henry Ford said, “If you think you can, or think you can’t, either way you’re right.” So where do these thoughts come from, anyway? And how do we change them?
I see our dreams turning into reality along a path that looks something like this:
- We Conceive of a thing;
- We Believe in that thing;
- We Perceive the reality of that thing;
- We Achieve resonance with that thing;
- We Receive that thing in our experience — according to our thoughts and beliefs.
We can’t really “change” our thoughts; but the thoughts we focus on will become our primary experience. In other words, it is preferable to THINK OF SOMETHING POSITIVE rather than try to STOP THINKING SOMETHING NEGATIVE. Instead of stopping old thoughts, consciously choose new thoughts and practice thinking them. Where do you get new thoughts? You can inventory your old thoughts and “reverse” them. In other words, you can write down your beliefs about yourself, for instance, and then turn them around. If you write down, “I am fat,” change it to, “I am FIT and healthy;” and say it whether you believe it or not. You must first declare a thing before you believe it. If you don’t have belief — MAKE BELIEVE. The repetition of affirmations is the best way to build belief: “I think I can; I think I can; I know I can; I know I can…”
Essentially, the things we think about come from three primary sources — sometimes called the three instruments of knowledge. There are, presumably, three ways you can come to know something. Obviously, you must know of something for it to be a part of your thoughts and conscious reality or experience. These are the ways we come to know the things in our experience:
- Perception — Acquiring information from the world via Sensory Perception (Sight, Sound, Taste, Smell, Touch…)
- Inference — Combining information acquired via Sensory Perception to form new ideas or concepts
- Intuition — Information that arrives in our awareness “spontaneously,” or not obviously through Perception
Some people call Intuition, “ESP,” or “Extra-Sensory Perception;” meaning that we have “sensed” something at a level “above,” or “higher than,” our physical senses — there are many ways of interpreting the ways information seems to arrive within our awareness. Sayings such as, “If you think long, you think wrong…” imply that our first impressions — intuition — are much more reliable than inference. Inference — like Perception — is based on the senses; and anyone who has seen a magician’s act has a real good idea about some of the ways our senses can lie to us.
Perception, for instance, includes information we are told by others. If we are told a specific thing at an early age, this information affects our perception; it could become a core belief by which we live our life. Consider children born to parents who are members of what the media would call a “hate group,” or a group of racial extremists. These children will have a completely different experience than children growing up without such prejudices. Right or wrong is beside the point; the point is — different thoughts and beliefs create different perceptions and experiences.
If you like eating a food that you used to hate, you have experienced another example of changing your experience of reality by changing the way you perceive your environment — in this case food. Allergies, fears, and phobias can be anchored into us in this same way; which is why an apparently harmless substance can cause someone to react in ways that can be life-threatening — or why average adults can be paralyzed in fear at the sight of an insect or spider. The spider has no power over us; but our perception of the spider (which is filtered by our experience and beliefs…) is enough to trigger our protective responses.
Sometimes we experience changes in our perception and perspective overnight — as if by magic. We ask questions about our lives and, at some point, the information arrives and we feel spontaneously “enlightened.” But, whether you use prayer, affirmations, hypnosis, meditation, or one of the many, highly-effective change techniques available today (such as the Z-Point Process for Instant Emotional Healing), when your thoughts change, your beliefs change; and when your beliefs change, your life changes. And there is not a single limiting belief that you can’t change. Just imagine your life without limits — imagine your life, only easier.
There are many ways to change your perceptions; and there are many inferences that can be drawn from any set of sensory inputs. The “real” part of our existence — the part we can weigh and measure — seems to be the most fluid part. Reality — the unseen, underlying fabric of existence — is always there; the physical world comes and goes with time and is always subject to our perceptions and interpretations. We apparently live in an illusion that we can actively — and interactively — edit with our thoughts and feelings. Since most of us are faced with this world daily, it helps to remember that we can’t always control what happens, but we can control how we perceive and respond to what happens. No matter what happens “out there,” we can always create and control our own experience “in here,” because perception is reality — or a part of it, at least.
*For an interesting variety of Spiritual, and Self-Developmental, wisdom, help, and resources, visit Cyres Cafe. Cyres Café is located on-line, and opening February 17th in Antwerp, Belgium. CYRES stands for: Create Your Reality Experience Self. Cyres Café is a simple solution to satisfy the hunger for self-development information and awareness of “interconnectivity.”
Check out the winner of the IONS (Institute of Noetic Sciences) “One Minute Shift” You Tube contest, created by CYRES: CYRES Video. Jane McCarthy, 38, a Co-Creator of Cyres Café, and Christiane Cheryl Hunt, 42, created this video with the track “CYRES”, written and performed by Cristopolis for Cyres Café.
You can experience Cyres * The Café of Dreams at www.cyrescafe.net.
The Power of Prayer in Every Bite!
January 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I recently had the pleasure of eating in a local restaurant called, “BJ’s Kitchen and Catering.” BJ’s is owned by Bettie Jean and Milton Robinson, and offers wonderful home-cooking with love in every bite. Our hostess was a delightful young woman we took to be in college due to her maturity and professionalism; we later found out she was the ninth-grade niece of Milton and Bettie.
Besides the wonderful (and comforting) food, and friendly, helpful people, there was an obvious feeling of peace and relaxation in this place. Overall, the experience was excellent. Jennifer asked for a buffet menu — so she could see what was offered through the week — and they didn’t have any copies left. Milton immediately went to the print shop and, before we had finished what was on our plate, had returned with Jennifer’s menu.
It was extra meaningful that he did that, because on the menu is the story of how a prayer became a reality; and it is a perfect example of not only The Belief Formula, but of the power of prayer to create reality from our thoughts and desires — in the right time and in the right way. Here’s the story from BJ’s menu:
BJ’s
“People love good food and I love cooking it.
My desire has been to have my own
Restaurant for years.
Being married 31 years I found cooking very
enjoyable; especially when cooking for
family gatherings, church functions, and
making a favorite dish for work.
People always enjoyed my cooking and have
encouraged me to fulfill my dream of
opening BJ’s Kitchen.
The reality is here! Saturday, September
29, 2007 Milton & Bettie Robinson, family
members and others will begin at 1840
Osborne Road to take on one of the greatest
challenges of our lives. We aim to please
and serve our customers with good cooking,
quality food and great service, our
customers are very special to us and we aim
to please.”
It all starts with a desire; this is our prayer. That “dream seed” grows until one day, “The reality is here!“ Our dreams become reality — our prayers are answered — according to our belief. The love, faith, joy, encouragement, and desire to please, assured the answer to this life-long dream. “Whatsoever you desire (to own your own restaurant, for instance…), when you stand in prayer (when you think, imagine, and speak of your desire…), believing (infused with love, faith, trust, courage, and gratitude…), will be given to you. “The REALITY is HERE!” That which was once only a desire in a woman’s heart is a reality. I ate lunch in someone’s dream because she had faith in herself — and her dream.
Eleanor Roosevelt said, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams;” and Jesus said, “Believe only.” “All things,” in fact, “are possible to he who believes.” This story is a perfect example of what the pathway between thought and thing — prayer and reality — looks like. We can all learn from the example of faith and courage BJ and Milton Robinson have given us. And if you want your prayers answered and your dreams to come true, you first have to have dreams; then, you’d better follow Ms. Bettie’s recipe for success — faith and love in every bite!
Believe in yourself and believe in your dreams. Dreams do come true; and prayers are answered — for those who believe. If you’re in St. Marys for Lunch or Dinner, stop by BJ’s Kitchen and Catering — for “an unforgettable dining experience.” They are located at 1840 Osborne Road in St. Marys. You can call ahead to see what’s on the menu for the day: (912) 729-8700.
It’s a Different Book…
January 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment
A number of people have asked me if The Belief Formula book that has just been released is the same as the e-book. The Belief Formula, available on Amazon.com, and most other online retailers and brick-and-mortar bookstores, is a different book than the e-book version released last year. The print version has a number of revisions and editorial changes, as well as an additional 20,000 words. The Belief Formula print version also has helpful informational boxes and bulleted key points at the end of each chapter; these were not in the e-book version. The published version also contains at least one additional appendix with some useful information about affirmations.
The Belief Formula e-book had been read in over 20-countries before it was taken offline for the release of the print version — which has been read in at least a half-dozen countries since its release in November of 2007. The print version of The Belief Formula is a much more readable, helpful, and usable book than the e-book. It’s just a different book.
To get to The Belief Formula on Amazon, click the link below:
"Prayer in America" on PBS
January 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I watched part of a show on PBS last night, called: “Prayer in America.” Check your local listings (www.PBS.org) to see if this program is available in your area. The following information is from the web site: www.PrayerInAmerica.org:
PRAYER IN AMERICA (airing November 2007 on public television stations) asks the question, What role has prayer played in shaping the development and history of America? The two-part documentary explores contemporary debates about the role of prayer through the lens of history. By asking rhetorically, “How did we get here?” the show examines the ways in which prayer has contributed to and continues to shape the American experience.
The film is inspired by and serves as the companion to Prayer in America (originally published by Doubleday as One Nation Under God: The History of Prayer in America) by James P. Moore, Jr. In his highly original approach to the history of the United States, Jim Moore suggests that prayer has historically, and through to the present day, been a significant influence on the political, cultural and economic development of the United States.
PRAYER IN AMERICA producers Alison Rostankowski and Chip Duncan explore this thesis through interviews with a wide-ranging group of scholars, writers, and experts on the history of religion and prayer in America. The documentary reflects diverse, and sometimes conflicting, perspectives that inspire viewers to examine the role religion and prayer play in their personal lives, politics, and culture.
PRAYER IN AMERICA is presented in two one-hour segments:
Main Topics for Show One
- American Prayer
- Immigrant Experience and Prayer
- Slavery and Prayer
- The Social Gospel and The Prosperity Gospel and Prayer
- School Prayer
Main Topics for Show Two
- Forgiveness and Prayer
- Science and Prayer
- War and Peace
- Healing and Prayer
- Civil Religion and Prayer
Check out the program and send us your comments. From what I saw, there seemed to be a focus on the different ways people pray, and the different things, or gods, people pray to, and the different reasons people pray, or the different things people pray for or about. But when you discount all the differences, you are left with the simple fact that, no matter how you pray, when, where, why, or who you pray to — or what you pray for — you are doing it with your mind — with mental faculties. Prayer is our way of mentally broadcasting our desires, love, gratitude, etc, into a mental Universe; and we do it because — deep inside — we know it works. Think about it.
The Secret to Unlocking the Power of Prayer is simply this: Think about what IT is that you want. And then, THINK About IT.
Did you do it?
January 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment
It’s a new year; did you make a resolution? I made a no-resolution resolution long ago. And, at the same instant, resolved that I would be single-minded anytime I truly desired a specific change — regardless of the season or date. If you made a resolution, add a promise to yourself that, if this thing is truly important, you will spend some time thinking about it — imagining it. This technique, of course, works year-round; but if you made a resolution, you need it now.
Here are some common resolutions people make and break each year (these are in no particular order):
- To lose weight
- To be nicer to someone — or everyone
- To be more active
- To eat healthier
- To work on improving their relationship
- To spend more quality time with the family, kids, etc…
- To work less — or more
- To make more money
- To stop smoking
- To stop drinking
- To stop taking prescription or non-prescription drugs
- To start exercising
- To overcome a habit, or drop a ritual
- To overcome a fear
- To move or relocate
- To change jobs
- To start school, or a career
- and so on, and so forth…
If you made a resolution that is not on this brief — but popular — list, and you feel it should be, please feel free to email me and I will expand the list… But you get the point, right? This list doesn’t change much from year to year; and people aren’t getting any more successful at achieving these “lofty?” goals. More and more Americans are overweight, sick, stressed, divorced, unhappy, in debt, afraid, stuck, and frustrated than ever before. Over half of all marriages end in divorce; and you know the rest are not all “blissful.” Over two-thirds of all Americans are overweight; and our health problems seem to be growing as a result of our current approach to them.
But what if people could really make a new year’s resolution to change one or more of these things in their own lives? What if everyone who wanted to lose weight could actually lose as much weight as they wanted? What if you could restore your health and reclaim your life — and happiness? Would you? If people did, would these numbers be growing? I don’t think so. Why would people choose suffering over peace or happiness?
Of course people don’t choose suffering; nor does suffering choose them. But something has clearly happened to the way we think about things — something that weakens our resolve. All of the things people seek to change are the results of choices — or the results of the stress caused by making choices. And most people are making choices to try and avoid or conquer some sort of stress. When stress is chronic, our attempts to manage it become chronic — whether they are helpful or not.
Habits, of course, are the result of repetitive thought (which becomes automatic and unconscious). To get rid of a habit, you must do something else in the time you have been giving to expressing your habit. In other words, you replace one thing with another — or with several other things. As all of your habits are simply expressions of deeply rooted, repetitive thoughts, or “programs,” the obvious way to make a resolution work is to DEEPLY and REPETITIVELY think, feel, and remember NEW THOUGHTS that are more in alignment with what you want than the “old” thoughts you have been thinking. Change your mind; change your life.
But changing your mind isn’t the same as WANTING to change your mind; when you change your mind, your life changes automatically. Lots of people want to change their minds on New Year’s Day; but most are not successful. Sure, they talk about changing their minds; but then they fall back into old routines and old ways of thinking — and nothing changes. They’ll say their resolution didn’t work; but it worked perfectly. They may not get what they HOPED for; but we always get what we are resolved to receive. A few dropped resolutions and we’ve lost the idea and the spirit; yet we still go through the motions — compounding our sense of loss or failure.
You must become the change you seek. This requires slightly more thought than the mere wanting of a thing requires — hence all the unfulfilled people in the world. Wanting a thing is easy; everyone does it. Focusing, single-mindedly on a thing, however, is something only a few are truly interested in doing. And, as a result, most people don’t really understand the power of their own resolve, or will. Declare a thing; and declare it as many times as you have to in order to believe it. When you believe a thing is already accomplished, it will be; you simply need to say, “Yes,” where appropriate and do what you are moved to do. Talk only about whatever it is you truly want; and do what feels good and right in your heart. As long as you have that feeling inside, you are on the right path. All things are possible; and miracles — if that’s what you want to call them — do indeed happen every minute of every day. Pick a miracle for yourself; and keep it in your heart. If you’ve made a resolution, keep that in your heart. If you can keep a thought in your heart long enough, you’ll soon develop the resolve to see it made real.
To help you keep your resolutions alive and well — in your mind and heart — we will continue the discussion on the main topics listed above (as well as any new resolutions you might send in…):
- Health and Wellness
- Weight and Fitness
- Relationships
- Creating Change (eliminating fears, phobias, limiting beliefs, etc…)
Happy New Year!
