Friday, February 24, 2012

Heart Faith Vs Head Faith

I love travelling. There is something about flying that has amazed me from the time I was a child. I can remember my first flight as clearly as if it happened yesterday. It was a flight from Los Angeles to Sacramento to visit my elder brother Charles when I was about 10 years old. Back then, the airlines assigned a flight attendant to sit with minor children on flights when they flew alone. What I remember most about the flight was the pain in my ears from the change in altitude. At the time, I had no idea what the cause of the pain was, I just remember it being excruciating. I remember talking with the flight attendant in the seat next to me, I remember hearing the other passengers around me talking and I remember the sound of the jet engines on the plane.

Then as we began our decent into Sacramento, something weird happened. When we reached a certain altitude my ears "popped". At least that's what the flight attendant called it. Then all of a sudden I could hear a lot clearer. The strange thing about this experience is that I wasn't aware of the fact that my hearing was distorted until my ears popped and I was able to hear clearer.

I thought that my hearing was fine, but in actuality my hearing wasn't as sharp as it should have been due to the change in cabin pressure on the plane.

I compare this ear popping to what happens to us as God's Word moves from our minds into our hearts. Anyone can hear a verse of scripture, read a verse of scripture or quote a verse of scripture. In our studies, we may be hearing and same verse or dealing with the same biblical principle that we've been hearing for quite some time, but one day it becomes more real in our hearts than ever before. One day the Word finally sinks down into your spirit, and when that happens, you no longer know of the verse or the principle... you know it. It's hard to explain, but when this happens, you become more convinced than ever before that the verse, Word, or scripture is real on a different level than before it sank down into your heart.

The only way to get God's Word from your mind down into your heart is to meditate on it. God tells Joshua in Chapter 1 verse 8 that if he meditated in the Word day and night the results would be that he would make his way prosperous and that he would have good success (Joshua 1:8). Psalm 1:3 tells us that this same type of meditation in God's Word would cause whatever we do to prosper. The bible is filled with scripture telling us the positive results that can be obtained by meditating... getting the Word of God from our minds down into our hearts.

If you've never experienced the renewed strength that comes from meditating in God's Word, I encourage you to find several scriptures and write them down. Find scriptures that deal with challenges you may be facing in your life right now and spend some quiet time alone with God. When your mind begins to wonder bring it back to the scriptures you're meditating on. Do this long enough for those verses to sink down into your heart, and you will find that once God's Word becomes engrained on your heart you will feel a sense of power and strength that is world over coming!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7184930

Friday, February 17, 2012

How to Overcome Life's Challenges

We live in a world full of dualities. This duality exists in the world that surrounds us and within ourselves. At times, when everything seems to go well, we feel happy and content. Yet, at other times, we face obstacles that some may seem easy to overcome with patience, wisdom or hard work, but also others very tough to handle, which make us lose our temper or patience and maybe complaining about our misfortune in life, forgetting that we are responsible of our thoughts, emotions and behaviors and therefore, we create our present in our own hands. In other words, our present is the result of our past actions and our future will be the result of our present actions.

Some of our existence circumstances are beyond our will: our birth and death for instance. If we are to think why God has put us in this particular environment or that particular country, we understand that God or the providence has a particular plan for each one of us.

Conversely, we control our mind and thoughts which have no barrier whatsoever. We can fly to the moon with our mind, even prisoners found in a 2 meters square room, can live freedom in their mind and feel it a reality. They didn't surrender to their somehow bitter reality but tried to overcome it through their mind. So, it doesn't matter what kind of circumstances we stumble upon, what matters is how we react to them: either we overcome them or we are defeated by them. A cup filled in half of water can either be seen half empty or half filled. It pays to look at things from a rational perspective, as if they are happening to another person. That is easier said than applied though. Oftentimes, we let our ego take over our mind and emotions making us take decisions that may not be for our benefit. We might think that this is the best course of action to take, but in reality we are likely to be only fooling ourselves.

Freedom is a sacred right given to every human being. In result, every person is free to live his or her life as they wish, provided that this freedom does not harm anyone else. At times, it pays to simply letting go, rather than seeking revenge; because revenge, negative thoughts and stress all consume from the wellness of our inner self and our physical health too. Exercising and doing a regular physical activity is a great way to help us feel better about ourselves through the flow of natural endorphins it lets circulate in our brain and whole body. Taking care of our physical body by eating healthy food rich in vegetables and fruits also help.

And last but not least, since we are a unity of physical body, emotions, mind and soul, it pays to nurture our mind by reading or learning new skills and our soul by practicing our religion's teaching in our daily life.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7183673

Sunday, February 12, 2012

What Causes Negative Thinking?

What we usually notice about negative thinking first is the Effect, not the Cause, of it. In fact, we may not even be aware that we're thinking negatively, we're just aware of how we feel in response to it. Some of those feelings may include tiredness or exhaustion, frustration or depression, discontent or anger, anxiety or fear. And, we sometimes (or often) mistakenly attempt to fix or adjust only the Effect, or the process, rather than the Cause. Process and Effect follow the leader: Cause.

What is this Cause, and where is its On-Off switch? I believe it's what Ernest Holmes calls a cross current of thought. That is opposite thoughts colliding in your subconscious or subjective (programmed, trained or habituated) mind. This reminds me of the original Ghostbusters movie when they used their equipment for the first time. They turned on their machines, and a current of energy streamed from each machine. One of the guys yelled that they were to avoid crossing the streams. When asked what would happen if the streams crossed, he stated, "It would be bad." We get an undesirable result when we cross currents of thought and experience one or more of the feelings listed above or others. Actually, it's like the riddle: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The feeling or the thought? The origination is interesting but it doesn't matter, ultimately, the result does.

Look at some examples of cross-current thoughts and see if you can identify negative feelings that might result (use the list above or whatever descriptors come up for you):

I want income BUT I hate my job (or am bored with it).

I want a joyful, loving relationship BUT I have a low opinion of men/women and/or myself.

I want abundance and prosperity BUT I don't deserve this because (fill in the blank).

I want to be successful BUT I don't know what success means to ME, and only me.

There are numerous variations of these and other statements, but you can see that what comes after the BUT is what holds the greater emotional charge. And the emotional charge, your energy stream, is the vibration you transmit to the Law of Attraction match-up field of manifestation. Even those who think Law of Attraction is a lot of hooey or too much effort still meet up with the effects of cross-current thinking.

We have to face the fact that we will have feelings; we are meant to. But we can face the fact that we are not tied to our feelings except by choice or habit. We also can face the fact that what is in our hearts (the feeling aspect of our subconscious, subjective mind) is directly connected to our thoughts. We think according to what we believe (feel), and what we believe is more often about the stories we tell ourselves rather than about the Truth of who we REALLY are and what we are really capable of.

The idea and practice of having negative thought patterns kicked into gear for you quite early in your development. Maybe as a child, you not only heard people express negative opinions about anything or everything and others, but perhaps about you as well. Whether they really meant what they said or not doesn't matter. The fact is we learn behaviors and thought patterns so early in life that, as a rule, we don't have a conscious awareness of them... until we begin to notice their Effects and begin to seek their Cause. It's almost like, or maybe it's even exactly like, a form of voodoo. And like voodoo, the spell or curse only works if or while you believe it.

So here you are years later, wanting to be a more joyful, fulfilled version of you, wanting your life to be more joyful and fulfilling, but you operate with cross-current thoughts. What can you do about this? It will help to make up your own BUT statements about areas of your life you struggle with or want to improve, to see what's revealed. Like learned behaviors, we are so used to practicing the BUT side of our statements, we don't even see this for what it is when we do it; we may even call it being practical.

Remember that what comes after the BUT acts like a voodoo spell (or curse) over you. Realize you are not tied to believing it. Realize that Law of Attraction doesn't do anything to you; it works THROUGH you. You can change BUT statements to AND statements:

I want income AND I can get it by doing something I enjoy, love, and find fulfilling.

I want a joyful, loving relationship AND I'm willing to find out what that means for me, and my partner, and do what is appropriate.

I want abundance and prosperity AND I'm open to appreciating what I already have and receiving even more.

And so it goes.

If we contemplate the Good (make this a regular or consistent inner experience), we'll experience the good we contemplate. We don't contemplate the Good by thinking about its opposites. Holmes wrote, "Ignorance of the law [of attraction] excuses no one from its effects; but knowledge [of it] clothes us in the seamless robe... " (In ancient days only those who were aligned with prosperity as their reality could afford a seamless robe.). You can "fail" to not use Law of Attraction, but you cannot fail if you use it as it's meant to be used: with direct line of thought rather than cross-current thoughts.

Use the BUT/AND statements to help you find those switches so you can flip them. Lift the negative "spells" off of you and your life, and practice more supportive statements and stories about yourself, your life, life in general, and the bigger picture. Find what leads you to or allows you to align with BELIEVABLE statements and stories about you and life, ones aligned with the larger, universal Truth about you and what the Creative Consciousness has available for you. Kick the BUTS from your thoughts. It's a good practice.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7178477

Friday, February 10, 2012

7 Steps For Living Life On Your Own Terms

I work with a lot of people and I get a chance to see what makes a lot of them tick. 99% of them are living on someone else terms building someone else dreams. 9 times out of 10 they are miserable, but they continue to live this life because it's comfortable. Daring to believe that the life that they really desire can be the one that they live everyday. Too lazy to put in the work that it will take to live life on their terms not truly understanding that when you are doing what you love, you won't mind the work. They don't want to put in the time that it will take to change their mindset, because living life on your own terms means that you have to change the way you think about things. Fear of the unknown keeps them paralyzed even though they know that they can take the leap if they had enough Faith. But even their Faith is shook. So how does one go about living life on their own terms you may ask. Well I am happy to share with you some of the steps that I've adopted to do just that.

1. First you have to make a decision that you want to live a life that you truly love.

2. You have to pay attention to what your purpose is. Notice that I said pay attention. The reason being is because your purpose is already in you, but you haven't paid it any attention because it comes so naturally to you that you just do it without thinking about it.

3. You have to stop chasing money. As long as you chase money it will continue to run from you.

4. Don't try to please everyone, because you can't. Be true to yourself and know your worth.

5. Take some time to find out who you are. Until you do this and be completely honest with yourself you will always live on someone else terms.

6. Don't let envy or jealousy into your life. Don't compare yourself to others. No one is better than anyone else. You can have exactly what you want when you make a decision that you want it. When you make the commitment that you will do what you have to create the life that you want. When you remove envy and jealousy from your life.

7. Don't forget to pray and ask for guidance. This is the most important thing especially when you are struggling try to make sense of your life knowing that you want something different but just don't know where to start or what to do.

Life is short. Stop living on someone else terms and start living on your own terms!

Until Next Time

Make It A Great Day!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7174329

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

The 9 Secrets For Your Joyful Life

1. Self-Compassion Rather Than Self-Judgment

In the 44 years I've been counseling clients, I've never had a client who was not judging themselves-and not realizing the profound negative effects of self-judgment. Most are afraid to let go of self-judgment, believing that without judging themselves, they will sit and do nothing. When they finally take the risk of self-compassion, they realize that, far from doing nothing, they are now motivated to be far more productive and creative. If they were previously doing well, it was in spite of their self-judgment, not because of it. If they were not doing well, it was because the self-judgment was immobilizing them.

Moving into compassion for ourselves-for our painful feelings, for our mistakes and failures, for being human-is magical! Self-compassion opens us to learning, healing and new choices that can bring us much joy.

2. Make it Okay to be Rejected

How much energy do you spend trying to be perfect, saying or doing the 'right' thing, giving yourself up, avoiding being yourself, and not being spontaneous? The big false belief here is that we can have control over how others feel about us and treat us. What if you accepted that you don't have this control over others, just as they don't have this control over you? What if you accepted rejection as a fact of life, and instead of attaching your worth to what others think, you define your own worth?

3. Define Your Intrinsic Worth

There are two ways to define your worth - extrinsically and intrinsically. When you define your worth extrinsically, you are defining yourself by your looks, achievements and performance-and by what others think of your looks, achievements and performance. This is a very hard way to live, as you constantly have to strive to feel like you are okay-and failure is not okay.

When you define your worth intrinsically, you define yourself by your inborn eternal qualities-the qualities that don't fade with age. While looks and performance fade with age, intrinsic qualities such as kindness, caring, compassion, goodness, creativity, passion, aliveness, joy, curiosity, courage and integrity can deepen with age. When you define yourself by your intrinsic worth, you are valuing who are, and then what you do becomes an expression of who you are, rather than a definition of your worth as a person.

4. Make it Okay to Fail

When you know you are inherently worthy, then it becomes okay to fail. Rather than failure defining your lack of worth, failure becomes a learning experience, letting us know what else we need to learn. Making it okay to fail and not seeing failure as defining you in any way opens the door to trying new things that can bring you much joy.

5. Don't Take Others' Behavior Personally

Once you define your intrinsic worth, it becomes much easier to not take others' behavior personally. When you know and value who you are intrinsically, then you accept that others' unloving behavior is about them rather than about you.

6. Stay Present in Your Body

When you live in your head rather than in your body, you are thinking rather than experiencing. You are missing the moment, which is where joy is. Staying in your head, thinking about the past or future, is a form of control that most of us learned as we were growing up to protect against pain. But pain and joy live in the same place in the heart, so when we avoid the pain of life, we also avoid the joy of life. Rather than avoiding pain through staying in your head and through various addictions, why not learn how to manage the pain of life through developing your spiritual connection? Then you can stay present in your body, experiencing the beauty, joy and wonder of the present moment.

7. Intent to Learn/Love Rather than Intent to Protect/Control

Our intent is what governs how we feel and behave. When our intent is to protect against pain with some form of controlling behavior-trying to control our feelings, others and outcomes-we end up abandoning ourselves and may feel anxious, depressed, empty, alone, guilty and/or shamed. When our intent is to learn about loving ourselves and sharing our love with others, our heart opens and we receive the joy that is an aspect of Spirit.

8. Higher-Self Dominion

When we give dominion to our mind to govern our thoughts and actions, we will likely feel badly rather than joyful. The mind has been programmed with many false beliefs that can cause us much pain. When we open to learning with our spiritual guidance and give our higher-self dominion over our thoughts, choices and actions, we operate from truth. The truth truly does set us free!

9. Gratitude

Finally, when we focus on what we do have rather than complaining about what we don't have, and when we choose gratitude throughout the day for all the small and beautiful things about life, our heart opens to the experience of joy.

While this might seem daunting, just start with practicing number one-self-compassion rather than self-judgment. As you get better and better at this, you will find the other choices much easier to do.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7180922